Under Germany’s Fourth Interstate Gambling Treaty, Mernov Betriebsgesellschaft MBH, has become the first operator to gain a licence to operate online slots.
Receiving approval from the Bundesländer of Saxony-Anhalt’s Ministry of the Interior and Sports, that serves as the interim regulator of the GlüNeuRStv regime, granted the German operator a ‘Virtuelle Automatenspiele’ (online slots) licence.
Following the licence approval, Mernov MBH, located in the town of Espelkamp, within the state of Rhine-Westphalia, will be able to offer its catalogue of online slots under the listed domains – www.jackpotpiraten.de and www.bingbong.de.
Moreover, 10 months from the launch of the GlüNeuRStv regime, Saxony-Anhalt’s white list continues to see no licences issued for online casino or poker.
The majority of Bundesländer chose to settle on the final terms of the Fourth Gambling Interstate Treaty that applied a €2 stake cap on slots, combined with a 5.3 per cent tax applied on casino turnover and costly technical provisions on table and slot games.
As such, several of the regime’s 35 licensed foreign and domestic sportsbook operators have notified Saxony Anhalt that they would apply for further casino and slot licences on the condition that the GlüNeuRStv be amended with favourable terms to operate online gambling verticals.
Amendments to the GlüNeuRStv require approval by a two-thirds majority of members of the Glücksspielkollegium, the ‘coordinating body’ of the regulatory regime, which is composed of 16 Bundesländer members.
The executive of Saxony Ahalt maintains that its focus is on establishing the federal gambling regulator Glücksspielbehörde by the end of 2022.