Schleswig-Holstein Parliament Reintroduce Gambling Regulations

According to the latest reports, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein won’t be changing its current online gambling regulatory system.

In fact…

…the liberalized regulatory framework for online gaming will remain effective until mid-2021.

Schleswig-Holstein proposed the extension bill in March of this year, and the Parliament of this state excepted it two months later.

According to the bill, online casinos can continue to “play by the same rules” for two more years, which was a big relief for the sites whose license has expired recently or are close to expiration.

Legislation Problem

Over the past seven years, the successful regulation of online gambling German territory has been quite a challenge. The cause for that was often and various changes in gambling regulations.

The bill that allows the current online gambling regulatory regime to remain in place is the latest version of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling.

While the Schleswig-Holstein regulatory model can stand for two years more years, it takes a higher instance to approve this version of the German gambling legislation in all its federal states.

The newest version of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling was introduced this year and was presented to the European Commission for a review earlier this month.

Before the law takes effect at a federal level, the necessary step is acquiring approval from EU authorities.

Yays and Nays

The move to extend the framework until 2021, has encountered a lot of .

In favor of this legislation were:

• Christian Democratic Unionist (CDU)
• Greens
• Free Democratic Party (FDP)
• South Schleswig Voters’ Association (SSW)
• Alternative for (AFD) of parliament

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) were the only politicians who voted against the proposal.

What This Actually Means

According to the adopted model:

• An unlimited number of operators can secure licenses
• There are no restrictions on the type of products they can offer
• Licensees are taxed at 20% of gross gaming revenue

Basically, this bill implies that iGaming operators that were certified in 2012 can now extend their licenses to 2021.

Minister for Home Affairs Welcomes Schleswig-Holstein Regime

The legal framework of Schleswig-Holstein allows for the provision of poker on the territory of the state.

These latest developments were hailed by the state’s Minister for Home Affairs, Hans-Joachim Grote, who believes that…

… prolonging the current gambling legislation will turn off players from black markets.

Without this measure, online sites will become unavailable to players due to their overdue license. Players will have no choice, but to look for their favorite games on shadier markets.

“It is the legislature’s duty to limit the use of legal gambling, to a reasonable extent, to prevent addiction, to protect players – especially minors – to protect customers from fraud, and to ward off criminal activity,” explained state’s Minister for the Interior, Hans-Joachim Grote.

He added that this can only be achieved …

…” with effective gambling regulation. The aim of this regulation is that gambling is conducted properly, fairly, responsibly and transparently.”

Grote is sure that intensive negotiations between all 16 states would continue with the goal of finding a common, viable way of regulating gambling across the entire country.

According to his statement, while some states were wary of regulating iGaming, this bill was the only way to tackle the illegal market and protect consumers long-term.