William Hill and Tipico back new German online casino lobby
Deutsche Online Casinoverband calls for "fundamental" changes to country's existing gaming laws
William Hill and Tipico are among eight founding members of a new trade group set up to push for online casino regulation in Germany.
Deutsche Online Casinoverband (DOCV), which was launched at EiG, also counts Mr Green, bet-at-home and OnlineCasino Germany among its original members.
“The DOCV was founded with the goal of working together with its member companies to promote a future-oriented regulation of online casino offerings in Germany,” the group said in a statement.
The group calls for a “fundamental amendment” to current gaming laws which prohibit online casino and “funnel players to black market operators”.
“The goal of regulating the online casinos market must be the clear channelling of the market towards the reputable providers, which implement appropriate protection and prevention measures and which guarantee the responsible handling of their offers,” the DOCV said.
The group will be based in Berlin and led by Dr Dirk Quermann, who is also vice-president of the German sports betting association Deutscher Sportwettenverband (DSWV).
Quermann added: “The market for casino games on the internet exists. This development of digitisation can neither be negated nor reversed.
“If legislators want to protect consumers on the net, they must also recognise the realities of the digital and interconnected world and guide the market in an orderly fashion.
“Only serious providers guarantee the appropriate protection and prevention measures and can guarantee the responsible handling of their offers.”
All founding members of the group are licensed in Germany or other European jurisdictions.
William Hill, which is also a member of the DSWV, told EGR it was pushing for sports betting and online casino regulation that was “fair and compliant with EU law”.