Law for venues in SH

The state parliament in Schleswig-Holstein (SH) wants to change the applicable arcade regulations by law. The current legal framework still comes from April 17, 2012 and is based on the then Gaming State Treaty (GlüstV), which is responsible for a legal patchwork in the nationwide gambling industry. Since the outdated provisions for the arcades of the northern state are no longer up to date and collide with the regulations of the new GlüstV, the state government wants to revise the arcade law.

Contemporary interpretation

The new state agreement has been in effect since July 1, 2021 and has the Game rules for gambling nationwide standardize as well as the industry adapted to modern standards. The basic structural change within industry will probably take some time, but both industry players and politics have already started to move.

Schleswig-Holstein has taken the new legal framework as an opportunity to subject the local arcade law a reform. In the corresponding design, one basic revision of the current regulations spoken. Central components of the planned change in the law are the minimum distances for terrestrial arcades and the potential continued existence of composite game halls, which operate on the basis of multiple concessions in the state.

Cost and administrative effort. In the state government’s draft law, the “D” section “D” focuses on the additional financial expenditure that would go hand in hand with the new arcade law. Among other things, the effects on the private economy, the administrative effort and the cross -border cooperation are dealt with.

Focus on minimum distances

Hardly any complex of topics was so violent as part of the Gaming State Treaty and controversial as the Minimum distances for state -based arcades. Although the anchored measures of the new legal framework allow a certain scope and thus granting the individual federal states individual implementation, but in many state parliament this has led to heated debates.

In Schleswig-Holstein, minimum distances are also the subject of the current political agenda, but the state parliament seems to tackle this topic with significantly less polemics and explosives. This is because the federal state has already had experience with minimum scenes for arcades and that the topic is not an unknown terrain. The arcade law from 2012 already stated that the venues are one Minimum distance of 300 meters have to comply with each other. Space also had to be preserved for children and youth facilities.

With the new Gaming State Treaty, Schleswig-Holstein is now planning to get rid of the contaminated sites of the special regulation at that time. So the outdated minimum distance regulation should no longer apply to so -called “old game halls”. Specifically, it is about venues that have received their license before April 27, 2012. It is planned that the old game halls in the course of the new legal framework have to try again as soon as the current license has expired. As a result, all venues should be treated in legally.

Less minimum distance. Schleswig-Holstein has adapted the minimum distances for its arcades as part of the implementation of the glow. The venues only have to keep a distance of at least 100 meters. The respective arcades do not have to meet special requirements, but a strict social and player protection concept applies.

Defined by law

According to the new amusement law, venues must continue to maintain the corresponding distance from children and youth facilities despite a lower minimum distance. However, there should be a change after the first draft law. So wants that Landtag in Schleswig-Holstein Define child and youth facilities more specificallyto enable the arcade operator to implement more precisely.

From then on, only children and youth facilities are to be referred to as such in which Children from six years of age run. This would mean that arcades would not have to keep the minimum distance to daycare centers or crèches. This design interpretation is not completely new and is already handled in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxons.

Not enough ripe. In the draft law, the decision to change the definition is justified by the fact that children under the age of six would not yet have maturity to understand certain relationships in full abundance. For this reason, the desire for gambling and the development of potential play protection is not a realistic scenario for such young people.

No more multiple concessions

With the GlüStV, politics wants to Counteract the loss of control of the players. This should not only ensure the minimum distances in Schleswig-Holstein, but also the future ban on the so-called multiple concessions. To date, this license form is possible to operate several arcades in a building complex – similar to a casino. The new arcade law will no longer be able to receive a multiple concession in the future.

Exception. However, existing licenses can be kept under certain circumstances. The respective operators have to limit the directly neighboring arcades to a maximum of three. In addition, approval for the continued existence of a multiple concession is possible if all arcades are certified by an accredited test.