Gambling is on the political agenda almost everywhere it seems.

Germany, which until now has stood out against legalisation of online gambling, is moving in a liberalising direction, as the big gambling companies have long lobbied for. On March 12, Germany’s 16 federal states are scheduled to approve the new State Treaty on Gambling that will allow country-wide online gambling from 1st July, 2021. Just two weeks later, on March 24-25 this year, leading local and international iGaming experts will gather at Frankfurt International Airport for the ‘Gaming in Germany Conference’. This, the conference advertising says ‘will be your one-stop event to learn all there is to know about the upcoming gambling reforms in what is potentially Europe’s biggest iGaming market’.

Meanwhile, other European countries are moving to tighten gambling regulation.

For example, in Latvia a new Gambling and Lotteries Law took effect on the first of the year. It includes a provision for anyone to be able to self-exclude for 12 months.

Lithuania’s new gambling bill, now passed by their parliament, and effective form 1st July, will require all gambling advertisements to display warnings regarding gambling-related harm.

And in Spain, following the UK decision to ban use of credit cards for gambling, an independent consumer rights protection body, Consumidores en Acción, has urged the Spanish government to introduce a similar ban.

info@gx4.com 23/01/2020, 05/03/2020