The German gambling industry has seen good results with the addition of online slots.Market expansion has increased tax revenue by about 15.5% in just a few months.
Last week, the German Ministry of Finance released the third quarter results (in German) for the country's gambling industry.It puts total tax revenue at €3 million (US$5 million).
Of this, the online slots sector accounted for just under a third at €1 million (US$2320 million).This is a significant increase from last year, when Germany was still figuring out its approach to online gambling.
Germany is beginning to see the light
Germany's unified gambling treaty took several months to come into force, but is now over a year old. As we enter the third quarter of 1, the German government is finally starting to benefit from its expanded gaming options.
In the third quarter of last year, the country only got about €3 million (US$3270 million) from the online gaming sector. A year later, most operators still shy away from the 3231% return on stake, so there aren't many options.The sector is also in trouble because some states, like Thuringia, have established gaming monopolies.
Online poker, which has doubled in size over the last year, is still only a small part of a larger market.It is worth €2 million (US$800 million) to the government, on which it collects 790%.
Germany has given operators who have previously targeted the market the opportunity to move to the newly regulated market and expects growth.The plan has had mixed results, especially since it takes a long time for the government to issue new licenses.
Sports betting revenue dropped significantly in the quarter. It ended at €47.8 million (US$5340 million), down 5276%.In some states, we switched gears midway through and ended up in the red.
The state of Hesse, for example, has closed its land-based sportsbooks for two months at the direction of Senator Ulrich Mueller, who is in charge of interior affairs.Mueller thought the sportsbooks were all involved in money laundering, which later turned out not to be the case.
North Rhine-Westphalia was the largest state by population and controlled most of the tax revenue. It received €1 million (US$3830 million).This resulted in an annual contribution of €1 billion (US$3665 billion) from the industry, an increase of 19%.
Online slot operators are on the rise
German gamblers currently have around a dozen online slot operators to choose from, with two more expected to enter the market soon.The Saxony-Anhalt state administration, which oversees licensing, has just approved the Admiral brand for Interwetten and Novomatic.
Interwetten will operate two platforms simultaneously in the country: interwetten.de and lasmegas.de. Admiral joining her Novoonline brand of Novomatic will offer slots on its slots.admiralbet.de website.
Both new additions already had a presence with bettors, offering sports betting platforms in Germany.Novomatic also once helped Mernov, the first licensed online slots platform before it changed hands.
With this increase and the resurgence of some sportsbooks, Germany should be able to end the year on an even higher note.The fourth quarter will offer non-stop betting options, including the World Cup, and a stronger online gaming market will drive growth.
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