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Germany’s new State Treaty on Gambling has been signed by leaders of the country’s 16 federal states, paving the way for its implementation from July 1, 2021.

The government of the state of Berlin announced the signing of the treaty Monday in its capacity as the current chair of the prime minister’s conference, with the treaty now subject to ratification by each state parliament before its entry into force next year.

The new treaty regulates online casino gaming for the first time in states that choose to allow it, as well as online and land-based sports betting and retail gaming nationwide. The licensing process under the treaty is managed by the state of Hesse, while the state of Saxony-Anhalt will serve as national regulator.

The Deutscher Lotto- und Totoblock (DLTB), which represents the interests of Germany’s state lotteries, welcomed the signing of the new treaty for securing the state monopoly on lotteries.

“We see the new regulation as further confirmation of the public interest-oriented lottery monopoly in Germany and expect that the regulation, especially in the online area, will suppress the illegal market,” said Jürgen Häfner, managing director of Lotto Rheinland and current head of the DLTB.

“After the signature, action must follow,” added Lotto Baden-Württemberg chief executive Georg Wacker. “Now the ball rests with the state governments to convert the treaty into valid state law so that the new regulations can come into force as planned on July 1, 2021.”

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“In terms of effective youth and player protection, the supervisory authority in Saxony-Anhalt must be able to get to work as quickly as possible,” Wacker added. “If this does not happen, the proliferation of games of chance on the Internet that has been observed for years will accelerate. The legal guard rails must be controlled and violations sanctioned, otherwise the new State Treaty on Gambling is nothing more than many pages of paper.”

Authorities in Hesse issued the first 15 sports betting licenses under the new state treaty in mid-October, with double that number of applications still pending.

The period leading up the implementation of the new treaty will be governed by the transitional regime adopted in September, which allows operators to serve the market in accordance with the new regulations coming into force on July 1 next year.

New York-listed casino operator Las Vegas Sands has reported an 82 per cent fall in net revenue to $586m for the third quarter of 2020, as the company begins to recover from government mandated casino closures due to COVID-19.

Revenue from Macao operations were down 92 per cent year-on-year at $171m, while revenue from Marina Bay in Singapore fell by 65 per cent to $281m.

Las Vegas properties contributed $152m in revenue during the quarter, a decline of 63 per cent versus the same period last year.

“I am pleased to say the recovery process from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to progress in each of our markets,” said Las Vegas Sands chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. “Our greatest priority as the recovery continues remains our deep commitment to supporting our team members and to helping those in need in each of our local communities of Macao, Singapore and Las Vegas.

“We remain optimistic about the eventual complete recovery of travel and tourism spending across our markets, as well as our future growth prospects. We are fortunate that our financial strength supports our previously announced capital expenditure programs in both Macao and Singapore, as well as our pursuit of growth opportunities in new markets.”

The operator generated higher revenue from casino during Q3, although revenue was still down 85 per cent year-on-year at $340m as a result of closures relating to the pandemic. Rooms contributed a further $76m in revenue, with food and beverage contributing $54m. Revenue from malls amounted to $83m, while revenue from convention, retail and other contributed $33m.

Las Vegas Sands reduced total operating expenses by 49 per cent to $1,196m in Q3, with resort operations expenses down 60 per cent at $791m.

As a result, the company posted an operating loss of $610m for the quarter, compared to operating income of $899m a year ago. After interest expenses of $137m, net loss amounted to $731m for the period, of which $565m was attributable to Las Vegas Sands.

For the first nine months of 2020, total revenue declined by 76 per cent to $2.47bn, with net loss attributable to Las Vegas Sands amounting to $1.39bn.

Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp (NSQ:LVS) closed down marginally by 0.56 per cent at $45.94 per share in New York Wednesday.

The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has called on Business Secretary Alok Sharma to intervene over the Government’s decision to close betting shops and casinos under Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions.

Bookmakers and land-based casinos have been included in the list of businesses having to close in areas placed under Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions in the UK, such as Merseyside and Lancashire.

This is despite all venues re-opening in June with stringent anti-COVID measures in place, including perspex screens and track and trace systems.

The BGC has accused the Government of behaving in an “ill-informed and arbitrary” way over the decision to order the closure despite a lack of evidence that they contribute to the spread of COVID-19.

In a letter to Business Secretary Alok Sharma, BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said that the move puts tens of thousands of jobs in the industry at risk.

“The singling out of betting shops for closure is unfair, unnecessary and runs counter to the sensible approach the Government had previously adopted,” said Dugher. “This decision looks ill-informed, arbitrary, and along with plans to close COVID-secure casinos (that had offered to give up selling alcohol) it frankly looks anti-gambling industry.

“It will have a hugely negative impact on our businesses and staff, despite their efforts to ensure a very safe environment for customers that is well beyond any other non-essential retail business.”

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Under the Tier 3 restrictions, bookmakers and casinos are the only part of non-essential high street retail having to close.

The BGC has also written to local leaders in Tier 2 areas urging them to oppose the forced closure due to the lack of evidence that they spread the virus.

Dugher pointed out that SAGE, the committee of scientific experts advising the Government on its COVID response, had noted that high street shops have a “very minimal impact” on the spread of the virus.

“I therefore would like to ask for your support to intervene on behalf of betting shops, an important part of high street retail and an industry that contributes over £3bn in tax every year,” said Dugher. “I share one hundred per cent the Government’s determination to tackle the spread of COVID.

“The decision to close betting shops won’t help with that, but it does put in jeopardy an industry that will be much-needed to help power the economy and the Exchequer to recovery.”

Gambling advertising and bonus restrictions introduced by the Spanish government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 41 per cent drop in the number of new online gaming accounts created during the second quarter of the year.

The ban on bonusing and limiting advertising to the hours of 1am to 5am resulted in only 413,790 new accounts being created during the period, a fall of 53 per cent versus the first quarter of the year and a fall of 41 per cent compared to Q2 2019. The number of active accounts also fell during the period to 910,629, a fall of 29.4 per cent versus the previous quarter and 25.35 per cent lower than a year ago.

Customer deposits were 4.74 per cent lower than the first quarter of the year but increased by 10.72 per cent year-on-year to €762.88m, with gross gaming revenue (GGR) falling 4.18 per cent versus Q1 and climbing 17.71 per cent year-on-year to €208.85m. Marketing spend in the second quarter amounted to €40.62m, a fall of 65.65 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 50.55 per cent year-on-year.

With the sporting calendar disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Casino gaming accounted for the bulk of Q2 revenue at €93.54m, equivalent to 44.79 per cent of total GGR, followed by Sports Betting at €68.15m for a 32.63 per cent share of total GGR. Poker accounted for 18.29 per cent of total second quarter GGR at €38.2m, followed by Bingo at €5.05m and Contests at €3.92m.

Q2 2020 Sports betting GGR breakdown (€)

Q2 2020 GGR Y-o-Y Change
Betting Exchange 21,443 -53.08%
Horse race betting 1,717,402 20.10%
Live sports betting 39,918,876 -29.07%
Other bets 2,671,746 223.93%
Parimutuel horse race betting 34,362 —
Parimutuel sports betting -429 -139.22%
Pre-match sports betting 23,784,621 -13.35%
Compared to the second quarter of 2019, Sports Betting GGR was down 20.79 per cent, offset by Casino GGR growth of 36.48 per cent, Poker growth of 97.35 per cent, Bingo growth of 66.86 per cent and Contest GGR growth of 733 per cent.

Q2 2020 Casino GGR breakdown (€)

Q2 2020 GGR Y-o-Y Change
Baccarat 3,005 187.27%
Blackjack 6,618,249 10.79%
Live Roulette 26,970,644 75.74%
Roulette (excl. live) 8,050,658 8.35%
Slots 51,897,907 30.44%
Total online market turnover during the second quarter of the year amounted to €4.75bn compared to €4.64bn in the prior year, with the figures from Spanish gambling regulator DGOJ excluding online pools betting with the state lottery.

The latest data from the UK Gambling Commission shows a further contraction of the online gaming market in August.

Data from online operators accounting for approximately 80 per cent of the market shows a decline in gross gaming yield (GGY) from all products except slots, while retail betting outlets reported stable GGY compared to the previous month as growth in over the counter betting offset lower yield from gaming machines and self-service betting terminals.

Online GGY fell by 12 per cent in August to £406m from £459m in July, with online slots GGY 1 per cent higher than the previous month at £164.13m, despite a 1 per cent fall in the number of bets placed and a 2 per cent fall in the number of active customers.

All other online products recorded a month-on-month fall in GGY, with the biggest declines in eSports betting (-29 per cent at £1.83m), real event betting (-21 per cent at £164.42m), and virtual betting (-16 per cent at £6.68m).

GGY from other online games including casino fell by 10 per cent to £59.50m, while online poker GGY was 8 per cent lower than the previous month at £8.35m. Other online GGY feel by 9 per cent to £1.32m in August.

All online products recorded a fall in active player numbers and number of bets placed during the month, with the average session duration of 21 minutes unchanged from July.

Retail betting outlets representing approximately 85 per cent of the market reported August GGY of £167.5m compared to £167.3m in July, as 14 per cent growth in OTC yield to £71.2m offset a 29 per cent fall in SSBT yield to £16.4m and a 2 per cent fall in machines yield to £79.9m.

The number of OTC and SSBT bets increased by 5 per cent and 1 per cent respectively in August, while machines bets fell by 2 per cent.

The Gambling Commission said that the fall in online GGY may be attributable to the break in the English Premier League, the holiday season and the loosening of restrictions allowing for more discretionary spending options.

The commission’s consumer research also shows that people have not significantly changed their gambling behaviour since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more pre-lockdown gamblers reducing their gambling spend during lockdown than increasing it. Post lockdown, 70 per cent plan to maintain the same level of spending, while 8 per cent plan to increase it and 18 per cent plan to decrease it.

Looking ahead to the next three months, respondents were more likely to anticipate a decrease in their gambling spend (29 per cent) than an increase (5 per cent).

The authority responsible for licensing sports betting operators in Germany has confirmed that a total of 15 applicants have been approved to operate in the market.

The Darmstadt Regional Council has awarded online sports betting licenses to 15 operators, seven of which have also secured approval to operate retail betting locations (see table).

The council said that the 15 licensees account for approximately 75% of the betting market in Germany, with a further 31 license applications still under consideration.

“This ends a long stalemate in German gaming regulations,” said Hesse interior minister Peter Beuth. “From now on, those who adhere to the important rules for the protection of players and minors are also allowed to offer legal sports betting.”

“Only with a strictly controlled offer can the goals of the State Treaty on Gambling be implemented and the illegal growth on the black market curtailed. Our goal is not for as many people as possible to bet on sports, but for players to bet in a state-regulated environment and not be driven into illegality,” Beuth added. “The Darmstadt Regional Council has built up a great deal of expertise in the regulation of gambling and will closely monitor the sports betting market.”

LICENSED SPORTS BETTING OPERATORS IN GERMANY AS OF 13 OCTOBER 2020
Company Online Retail Domain(s)
Admiral Sportwetten GmbH X X admiral.bet.de
BV (Germany) Ltd. X betvictor.de
bildsportwetten.de
bild-sportwetten.de
bildsportwette.de
bild-sportwette.de
bildbet.de
bild-bet.de
Bwin (Deutschland) Ltd. X bwin.de
Cashpoint (Malta) Limited X X xtip.de
merkur-sports.de
Gamebookers (Deutschland) Ltd. X gamebookers.de
Greenvest Betting Limited X neobet.de
Hillside (Sports) ENC X bet365.com
I.B.C. Sportsbetting Ltd. X X wettarena.de
JAXX GmbH X sportwetten-jaxx.de
Ladbrokes (Deutschland) Ltd. X ladbrokers.de
Sportingbet (Deutschland) Ltd. X sportingbet.de
Tipico Co. Ltd. X X tipico.de
Tipin Ltd. X X tipbet.de
tip-in.de
Tipwin Limited X X tipwin.de
Trinity Bet Operations Limited X X de.hpybet.com

The Danish Gambling Authority has appointed Anders Dorph as director to replace Morten Niels Jakobsen.

Dorph will begin his new role on 1 November, joining from the Danish Immigration Service where he served as deputy director. He replaces Morten Niels Jakobsen, who left the regulator to take over as director of the Danish Valuation Agency on 1 August.

“The Gambling Authority plays a crucial role in the work of ensuring a proper and regulated gaming market in Denmark, where players are protected against unfair and illegal gaming,” said Minister of Taxation Morten Bødskov.

“That is why I am glad that Anders Dorph has taken on the task. He has an extremely heavy professional profile with broad experience from politically led organizations and cooperation across authorities. Therefore, I look forward to benefiting from his competencies.”

Following his appointment, Dorph said: “The Gambling Authority is an exciting agency that plays an important role in regulating the gaming market. That is why I am very much looking forward to the task and the collaboration with the many talented employees in the agency.”

China’s lottery market recorded a 2 per cent increase in total lottery sales to RMB34.78bn (€4.36bn) for the month of August.

With results for the first half of the year negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, August marked the second consecutive month of year-on-year growth for the lottery market.

Sales of the Sports Lottery rose 10.5 per cent to RMB21.53bn, offsetting a 9 per cent decline in Welfare Lottery sales to RMB13.25bn.

There were a total of 19 Chinese provinces that grew lottery sales compared to the same month last year, including Guangdong, Jiangsu and Yunnan.

Scientific Games Lottery
Despite the return to growth in July and August, total Chinese lottery sales for the first eight months of 2020 were 30 per cent lower than a year ago at RMB194.83bn. Welfare Lottery sales were down 31 per cent at RMB87.97bn and Sports Lottery sales were down 30 per cent at RMB106.85bn.