German Gambling Regulations Ruffle Up Its Online Poker Market
One of the world’s biggest online poker markets has been shaken up after new rules and regulations that were set out this month.
After Germany released regulations on October 15th, the online poker rooms were left to make adjustments in order to comply with the new landscape.
The new rules, which were unveiled earlier this month, are being referred to as a “tolerance policy” to allow poker sites to continue to operate in the country until a new Gambling Treaty goes into effect next July.
There are several new regulations, but only a few that apply to poker. Sites will need to implement rigorous know-your-customer [KYC] requirements that will require players to fulfill additional verification requirements to confirm their identities. Typically, KYC requirements are imposed by governments on industries where money laundering could theoretically take place.
According to multiple gambling outlets, players will only be allowed to play a maximum of four tables at once, they will not be allowed to choose their table or seat, the deposit limit will be capped at €1,000 per month and there will be a “panic button” that will instantly self-ban a player for 24 hours.
The seating restrictions and table limits are in line with what some American-facing poker sites have done to sustain the overall health of the ecosystem.
All of this has resulted in a variety of changes to online poker rooms serving German customers.
For instance, PokerStars has blocked access for Germans to its European network while it works to comply with the new rules. Run It Once is also temporary leaving the market as well. Both online poker sites are expected to relaunch in the country under the new temporary framework. Meanwhile, partypoker responded to the latest developments by launching a new client, while Unibet and 888 are working on clients of their own.
However, other operators are taking a different approach. Winamax, Ladbrokes, and Redbet have even decided to leave the German online poker market altogether.
