Beginning in January 2020, new (online and offline) sports betting licences may be issued in Germany. The licensing authority has published the minimum licensing requirements that need to be met to participate in the licensing procedure. 

Overview

The intended amendments to the State Treaty on Gambling (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag = GlüStV) will remove the cap for licences during the so-called experimental phase for sports betting, which runs until 30 June 2021, enabling a new sports betting licensing procedure. Provided that all 16 German states ratify the amended treaty until 31 December 2019, the amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2020 and the procedure for issuing new (online and offline) sports betting licences will start right away.

Minimum requirements

The competent gambling licensing authority of Hesse, the Darmstadt Regional Council, has already published the minimum licensing requirements that need to be fulfilled to qualify for the licensing procedure. The comprehensive catalogue of requirements includes proofs, declarations and documents covering areas such as

• information about the applicant as well as its representatives,
• protection of minors and responsible gambling,
• payment processing and IT security.

We have prepared an unofficial translation of the “minimum requirements”. The annexes to the “minimum requirements” are also included in this translation. Please note that only the German version is binding and that the “minimum requirements” are not exhaustive. The authority reserves the right to request further documents.

Procedure

The procedure for issuing the new licences will start beginning of 2020. Applications may already be submitted. However, they will be treated as having been received by the authority on 2 January 2020. The licensing authority will review the application for a licence on the basis of the minimum requirements.

All documents need to be translated into German and official documents must be submitted with a certified translation. Further, documents have to be submitted twice – once as hard copies and once as digital versions.

Next steps

In order to successfully apply for one of the new licences, sports betting operating have to comply with the comprehensive “minimum requirements”. In our experience it usually takes several weeks to prepare all necessary documents – so now is the time to start drafting the application.