Germany limits online gambling payments

Germany has cut down PayPal from the online gambling payments option as it ordered it to stop favouring illegal casino activity.

Germany.- PayPal is a common option to fund punters’ digital wallets at iGaming websites. However, German bettors won’t be able to fund their online gambling activity with the company.

The government has ordered the company to stop allowing payments to unauthorised online casino activity. That’s why PayPal has updated its market terms of service in Germany. After that, it included “offers that are not legal in your respective whereabouts, including some online gambling offers,” among prohibited activities. 

Germany will begin licensing online gambling operators next January, as each state will conduct its own process. For that matter, it wants to limit the unauthorised operations and stopping payments is an easy way to do so.

Concerns on regulations

The sports betting segment is a highly-lucrative vertical and many governments seek to regulate it. However, the German state of Hesse may hit sports betting operators with a not-so-appealing model.

The local government will soon award the first licences, but experts have warned about its restrictive model. Up to 70% of operators’ revenue could disappear, analysts say.

The Regional Council held a meeting with more than 200 company representatives. They heard the government’s plans for the licensing process, which will launch soon.