First state-owned casino opens

The company Sächsische-GmbH & Co. KG has opened its online casino a few days ago. This is the first state-owned online casino on the market in Germany. For now “only” virtual slot games and no classical casino games such as Roulette or Blackjack will be available. How attractive are the online offers of the state Spielbanken-GmbH?

The Free State of Saxony was the first to get involved as a state provider in the German online gambling sector. Besides the state-owned Spielbanken-GmbH there are a further 21 private companies which hold a German licence for virtual slot games. (As of 20th. January 2023). The online casino services of Saxony are available on the domain “die-spielbank.de”. In the past we had reported several times about the different policies adopted by the different German regions in the online gambling industry. In May 2022 for example we had reported that Schleswig-Holstein had initiated a licence procedure for online casino games.

Over 300 Online-Slots available on “die-spielbank.de”

Last Tuesday, the 17^th. January, 339 virtual slot games were activated on the platform “die-spielbank.de”. Those interested can register on the platform and newcomers will receive the classical 100% first deposit bonus which can amount up to 100 Euro. The Spielbanken-GmbH & Co. KG from Saxony is the first state-owned enterprise which has tried to gain a foot fold in the multibillion Euro market. In the past illegal providers were mainly dominating this lucrative market. The shareholder of the Spielbanken-GmbH is the Finance Ministry of Saxony. Classical casino games such as Blackjack, Roulette or Poker are currently not being offered.

During the introduction of the platform the casino manager Frank Schwarz said:

“We want to be future proof and show that even state companies can become innovative.”

6 employees are responsible for the online casino

In the future, the Spielbanken-GmbH from Saxony hopes to reach five to six per cent of the German market share with its online casino “die-spielbank.de” – a very ambitious aim. The “boss” of the new online casino from Saxony is Kurt Böhm. During the introduction he stated that the slot games available here were designed for the smartphone and the online casino will presently be managed by six employees. Of course, only users, who are at least 18 years of age may register in the “Saxony Casino”. Besides this, artificial intelligence should be able to recognise problematic gambling behaviour and the players involved shall then be approached or even blocked.

According to the details provided by the Sächsischen Spielbanken-GmbH, the pay-out rate of the virtual slot games is 90 per cent. As an online casino licensed by the GGL, the Gambling Authority for all regions in Germany, the “die-spielbank.de” is of course bound to charge the controversial gambling special tax amounting to 5.3 % of the turnover. As a comparison: In June 2021 we had reported that the Maltese Gambling Authority had reduced the minimum disbursement rate for casino games by seven per cent. Since then a minimum distribution rate of 85% has been prescribed – significantly less than in the new “Saxony Casino”. It should however be noted that the unpopular “slot tax” must be paid again for every slot, which in turn reduces the appeal.

Conclusion

The first state owned online casino started operating. Those responsible hope that the platform “die-spielbank.de” will have around 10,000 to 20,000 registered player by the end of this year. We are excited to see whether the state company will manage to reach its aim and secure a market share of five to six per cent of the legit German online gambling market.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/reichstag-berlin-regierungsgebäude-1358937/