When are live games available in German online casinos?

On 1 July 2021, the State Treaty on the New Regulation of Gambling in Germany (GlüStV for short) officially came into force. However, even two and a half years after the liberalisation of the online gambling sector, it is obviously still not possible for users to play popular live games such as blackjack or roulette in online casinos. This is despite the fact that the law provides for the possibility of licensing such "online casino games".

It is now over three years since we at GambleJoe asked ourselves whether live gaming has a future in Germany. In the GlüStV 2021, the legislator makes a fundamental distinction between virtual slot machines (§ 22a), online poker (§ 22b) and online casino games (§ 22c). All these games can be licensed from the summer of 2021. So why is it that, several years after the new GlüStV came into force, online casino games in real-money mode are still not available anywhere in Germany? To date, licences have only been granted for virtual slot machines and online poker.

When will live games finally be available in online casinos?

Firstly, we would like to clarify the question of what live games actually are according to the GlüStV. The law does not use the word "live games", but instead the word "online casino games". § 22c GlüStV states this:

"(1) Countries may authorise online casino games for their territory on a statutory basis.

itself, (...) or grant one, but no more than as many licences as licences for casinos (...) could be granted.

Licences pursuant to sentence 1 number 2 shall be limited in time. (...)

(5) Further details shall be regulated by the federal states in provisions of federal state law."

The fact is that the individual federal states are responsible for authorising live games and online casino games. They can decide whether to offer such online casino games themselves as a state provider or award licences to private providers. In addition, it is also possible for the federal states to completely reject the authorisation of online casino games.

In the past, we at GambleJoe have already reported on the decisions of several federal states:

• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania does not want to allow online casino games (article from 29.01.23)
• Thuringia wants to authorise online casino games as a state provider (article from 22/03/22)
• Schleswig-Holstein wants to award licences to private providers (article from 10.05.22)
• Hesse also wants to award licences to private providers (article from 8.12.22)
• North Rhine-Westphalia also wants to award licences to private providers (article from 6.03.22)

North Rhine-Westphalia has already published online casino gaming legislation

With a population of over 18 million, Germany's most populous federal state recently published its own law on the "Licensing of Online Casino Games in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia" (OCG NRW). The law can be accessed online here on the official website of the Ministry of the Interior of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The most important points of the OCG NRW at a glance:

• The state of North Rhine-Westphalia can grant a maximum of five licences for online casino games. These are games such as roulette, blackjack and baccarat (§ 1, Section 3).
• The scope of the licences is limited to the territory of North Rhine-Westphalia (§ 5).
• Live broadcasts must be from a land-based casino or other premises located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (§ 14-15).
• Bonuses and rebates must be applied for separately by the operator and approved by the authorities (§ 10).
• The online casino gaming tax is 30% of the gross gaming revenue. Gross gaming revenue is the amount by which the stakes exceed the player's winnings. This is likely to be the house edge (§20-21).
• The operator is obliged to keep comprehensive records of each online casino game and to submit them to the authorities if required (§ 27).

As North Rhine-Westphalia now has a special law that has already come into force, it should not be too long before the five licences are awarded. It is of course questionable how much interest land-based casinos and online casinos will show in such a licence for online casino games.p>

The fact is that the costs and time involved for licence holders are very high, especially at the beginning. However, at least in such a densely populated federal state as North Rhine-Westphalia, the effort is likely to be worthwhile. However, according to our information, no licences for online casino games have yet been awarded in North Rhine-Westphalia or other federal states.

In an article published in August 2021, we posed the question of whether blackjack, roulette and other live games are more addictive than slots.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it is still not possible to play online casino games such as blackjack, roulette or baccarat in German online casinos. However, more than two and a half years after the new legislation came into force, things seem to be moving slowly, at least in some areas. The first licences for online casino games are likely to be issued in North Rhine-Westphalia, where a specific online casino gaming law has already come into force.

However, even after the licences have been granted, it will still be at least a few months before live games are actually available in the online casino. After all, the operators still have to meet all the formal and technical requirements once the licence has been granted. So it will be interesting to see when German users will finally be able to enjoy the first rounds of Blackjack and Roulette in an online casino with a German licence!

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/roulette-roulette-tisch-chips-geld-5012427/