Legislation

Germany – DSWV says new online tax ‘jeopardises’ gambling regulation

German operator association der Deutsche Sportwettenverband (DSWV) has slammed the approval of a 5.3 per cent tax on turnover, which was approved by the Bundestag last week, as part of the country’s State Treaty on Gambling, saying it is ‘jeopardising the success of the new gambling regulation in Germany.’

The bill was pieced together by the Federal Council, known as the Bundesrat. Controversially, it will tax a player’s individual stake rather than the operator’s earnings from slots and poker.

DSWV President Mathias Dahms said: “By taxing the individual stakes, the state asks the customer to pay for every single spin of the virtual slots – over and over again, every few seconds and even if the stakes come from previous winnings. There is a reason that all other EU countries have imposed an income tax on these games and not a gaming stake tax.”

“When it comes to online gambling, Germany is turning the wrong way in tax policy in Europe. For years, the countries had struggled to find a compromise on the State Treaty on Gambling and to open up the online gambling markets in order to finally get this area under regulatory control. Now the countries are destroying their own work with an over-tax regime for virtual machine games and online poker in the last meters. ”