Tipwin and Mybet gain German online casino licences
They are only the second and third operators to secure licences for Germany’s regulated online slots market.
Germany.- Almost a year after Germany introduced legislation to launch a regulated online casino market, the number of licences issued has risen to three. Tipwin and Mybet join Mernov as the only operators licensed to offer online slots.
Tipwin is a well-known sports betting operator in the country and will now offer a gaming section on its website. Mybet, now owned by Ruleo Alpenland, is online-only. It was relaunched by Alpenland with a Kambi sportsbook after the previous owners became insolvent in 2018.
Until now the only online slots licensee was Mernov, linked with the Gauselmann Group, which runs Bing Bong and Jackpot Piraten.
Until the implementation of Germany’s Fourth Interstate Treaty on Gambling in July last year, online slots had only been available in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. But the new regulated market has some tough conditions, with a 5.3 per cent tax rate on turnover and a maximum €1 stake limit. That failed to appeal to operators, who said the conditions were unsustainable, resulting in almost no applications.
Kindred Group has announced that it will withdraw its Unibet brand from the German market due to slow progress with licensing and the tight restrictions in place. It has withdrawn its sportsbook and online slots licence applications and will halt operations in the country from July 1.
Kindred had applied for a sports betting licence in February 2020 and for online slots last year but said the process was taking too long, with it yet to receive a decision. It has not ruled out returning to the market in the future.
The operator association DSWV and European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) have both lodged complaints with the European Commission, claiming that the tax rate constitutes illegal state aid because it treats online casino unfairly when compared to land-based gaming venues.
As for online table games, each state can decide whether to maintain a monopoly system or to grant a number of licences up to the same number of land-based casinos located in its jurisdiction.
