Prospective German betting operators must cease casino, Hesse warns

Prospective German sports betting licensees must submit a written declaration that they and their affiliates will not operate online casino sites, according to new licensing rules published by the German state of Hesse.

The state is responsible for developing the nationwide sports betting regulatory framework following the agreement of the German Interstate Treaty in March this year.

Under the new guidelines published this week, applicants are required to cease any online casino offering in Germany from the date of the licence issue, apart from Schleswig-Holstein where the practice is legal.

The German state of Lower Saxony is also attempting to clamp down on online casino through pressure on payments providers.

Prospective licensees must operate a registered business office in Germany and provide a copy of their licence certificate in the operators’ respective country of origin.

The licensing process is expected to kick off in 2020.

Schleswig Holstein, Hesse and North Rhinewestphalia are thought to be in favour of online casino regulation

Online betting firms are obligated to appoint a so-called “social concept” officer to be responsible for dealing with player interaction issues such as problem gambling.

In addition, sports betting firms are required to appoint a player protection officer and provide a full written explanation of what measures they will use to identify problem gamblers.

Licensees are asked to provide a full list of the brands they will operate within the German market, differentiated according to the distribution channel. Operators must also provide estimates on the total amount of bets they expect to receive in 2020 and 2021.

In the event the licence is granted, the operator will be required to pay a minimum €5m security deposit, which can be made via a bank guarantee. This deposit can be increased by the licensing authority “up to the amount of the expected average turnover of two weeks, to a maximum of €25m”.