Germany’s second most populous state has elected to adopt a state-controlled monopoly for online casino games.

The State Lottery and Casino Administration of Bavaria will hand the online casino games monopoly to state-owned Lotto Bayern, which is also the sole land-based casino operator with nine casinos in the state.

The government of Bavaria has justified the move by arguing that house-banked games pose a significant risk of manipulation and can therefore only be safely operated by the state-owned casinos.

Germany’s new State Treaty on Gambling comes into force on 1 July, regulating online sports betting and casino gaming for the first time. Sports betting will be regulated at the national level, while individual states are free to choose whether to allow online casino games and the number of licenses available.

The law to enact the state monopoly in Bavaria was notified to the European Commission last week and is subject to a standstill period expiring on 2 July.

The monopoly is expected to benefit Scientific Games, which currently provides lottery and sports betting solutions to Lotto Bayern.

Gaming Intelligence