- The new online gambling law has come into effect in Germany as of today.
- Unibet and PokerStars were the first to react and now more operators have joined the bandwagon.
- Among them are GGPoker, partypoker, Run It Once Poker and the iPoker network, whereas 888poker has not published any adjustments yet.
- GGPoker has confirmed its commitment to full licensing in Germany.
- partypoker has made the decision not to increase the fees on the majority of their offer, in order to continue to guarantee a player and market-friendly approach. But like other operators, it has also ceased the high-stakes cash games.
- Other major operators including 888poker are also expected to announce their measures in the days to come.
The new online gambling law has come into effect in Germany as of Thursday. The online poker market in particular is heavily influenced by the new regulations, and more operators have responded to the new burden.
Unibet and PokerStars were the first to react and now more operators have joined the bandwagon. Among them are GGPoker, partypoker, Run It Once Poker and the iPoker network; 888poker has not published any adjustments yet.
Most of the existing restrictions of the tolerance policy have been carried over into the Glücksspielneuregulierungsstaatsvertrag (GlüNeuRStV-E). The controversial turnover tax of 5.3% has also been agreed upon, which poses new challenges to all online poker operators that wish to continue their services to customers in the country.
The specifics are outlined in paragraphs §46 and §47 of the law draft that has been submitted to the German Bundestag. As per the definition, the game begins on each respective table when the player receives their first card and ends when leaving the table. By this interpretation, the invested stake (Einsatz in German) by the player is supposed to be taxed for every new cash game entry.
