Schleswig-Holstein wants to sell four casinos

At the beginning of the month, the state government of Schleswig-Holstein announced its intention to sell a total of four state casinos. These are said to be the locations in Kiel, Lübeck, Flensburg and Schenefeld. But what are the reasons for Schleswig-Holstein wanting to part with its casinos?

It was only at the end of February this year that we at GambleJoe asked ourselves who would take over the long-established Wiesbaden casino. Now the state government of Schleswig-Holstein is probably also looking for a private investor to operate the four state casinos in the northernmost federal state of the republic in the future. Critics already fear that a possible privatization could be at the expense of player protection.

Should casinos be run by the state?

In view of the situation in Schleswig-Holstein, the question arises once again as to whether the state should act as a gambling operator. Meanwhile, fewer and fewer casinos are operated by the state. Private-sector companies are therefore continuing to expand here too. In December 2023, for example, we reported that Gauselmann had taken over a total of ten casinos in Lower Saxony.

Of course, the state is fundamentally responsible for creating a legal framework that protects players. However, opinions have been divided for years on the question of whether the state should also act as a gambling provider.

The fact is that the state of Schleswig-Holstein is currently generating good wins with its four state-run casinos. However, an investor would only consider a purchase if it could also generate correspondingly high wins. Consequently, Schleswig-Holstein could make a bad deal by selling its casinos, at least in the long term. In return, however, the administrative burden for the state would be significantly reduced.

Irrespective of this, the state would of course continue to profit from the operation of the casinos. This is primarily due to the casino levy and other tax revenues. In addition, the four casinos secure a not inconsiderable number of jobs in the rather rural state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Are there already interested parties for the casinos in the north?

So far at least, there are no details about possible interested parties for the operation of the four state casinos. The process is therefore likely to take some time. However, it is not unlikely that the Merkur Group or Novomatic, for example, could be interested in operating the locations in Kiel, Flensburg, Lübeck and Schenefeld.

Schleswig-Holstein also remains a pioneer in online casino games

Even back then, Schleswig-Holstein was an absolute pioneer in the gambling sector. This has hardly changed to this day. The authorities here have already issued several licenses for online casino games. These have been granted to BluBet Operations GmbH (Novoline.de), Tipico Karlsruhe Limited (Tipico), Cashpoint Malta Limited (Merkur-Spiel.de) and Skill On Net Limited (Drueckglueck.de), among others. Just a few days ago, we at GambleJoe also reported that online table games have now also been approved in Baden-Württemberg.

Source of the image: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/nordsee-leuchtturm-watt-wattenmeer-62764/