Two more operators have been approved to launch online slots in Germany, with SlotMagie and Merkur becoming Germany’s fourth and fifth online slots licensees.
Mill Adventure receives a license to offer slots on the Slotmagie website, while Merkur Licensed Available on three sites: Xtip, Mercur Sports, and Mercur Spiel.
Merkur’s management spokesman, Markus Ettlin, said the company is ready to launch online slots under the Merkur Spiel brand, pending final regulatory approval.
“We’ve been waiting a while for a range of ‘Merkur Spiel’ branded virtual slot machine games,” he said. “That’s why we’re all the more excited to bring the same Merkur classics that have been played millions of times in-store to his players online.
“This approval is an important and major step towards becoming the best omnichannel provider across Europe.”
The business will be the 4th and 5th online slots licensee under Germany’s new online gambling regime, which will come into force on 1 July 2021.
The new system includes many strict conditions, such as a €1 stake limit for slots. In addition, the operator has to pay his 5.3% tax on turnover.
As a result of these conditions, no online slots or poker licensees were listed for nearly a year after the treaty entered into force. The operator and industry association Deutsche Sportwettenverband (DSWV) argued that the rules were too difficult to operate.
The first telecom operator to be licensed was Mernov, established as a joint venture between Merkur and Novomatic. However, the business implemented a “new shareholder structure” earlier this month and changed its name to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Glücksspiel (DGGS).
Mernov was followed by two other operators in June. Tipwin and his Ruleo of Mybet operators. After they got their approval, the state of Saxony his Anhalt, which deals with licensing, revealed that his nine other operators are likely to get their slots or online his poker licenses soon. There are currently no licensed online poker businesses.
The two new licenses are the first since Glücksspielbehörde took over enforcement of penalties against unlicensed online operators on July 1st. As part of this mission, the company carried out its first IP blocking order against lottery operator Lottoland last month.
The agency will take over all regulatory matters on 1 January 2023.
