Germany Approves Controversial iGaming Tax Bill

The controversial “GlüNeuRStv” (Glücksspielneuregulierungstaatsvertrag) which is the new German state treaty on gambling was approved by the Finance Committee last week.

The bill was put together by the Bundesrat which is the Federal Council in Germany and it received a lot of opposition from online casino stakeholders as they felt the bill was unfair to the iGaming market.

State legislators were confident that even though there was opposition to the bill from online casino stakeholders, they would get the necessary floor vote to pass the bill and that is exactly what happened.

The main point of contention in this new bill is that it looks to impose a 5.3% betting tax on online casino and online poker games. The Finance Committee pointed out that this 5.3% tax will not only be applicable to licensed gaming operators but also unlicensed gaming operators.

Top iGaming operators in Germany like LeoVegas claim that the new regulations which they have been trying to comply with are significantly hurting their bottom line. One of the new regulations will limit each spin on an online slot game to €1.

This is a big blow to online casino operators in Germany as they tend to make over 50% of their gross gaming revenues via online slot games. By putting a cap on the spending limit for each spin, online casino operators would lose a lot of money. These new regulations will come into effect on July 1.