NRW agrees with GlüstV

The state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia has successfully ratified the new State Treaty (GlüstV). In the most recent parliamentary meeting, the parties agreed to the draft law despite previous trench cramps, which should finally come into force on July 1, 2021. With the consent of North Rhine -Westphalia, all 16 federal states have now implemented the new legal framework in the respective state legislation.

Focus on online gambling

In no other federal state caused so much to ratify the Gambling State Treaty Discussion As in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the debate about the correct implementation of the new legal framework, both the government and opposition parties represented different views. Corresponding individual paragraphs in the legal document were controversial. In addition to the minimum distance between the state-based arcades, it was primarily the growing online segment that heated the minds. Upper associations, experts and groups from the industry were also part of the protracted process, which has now found a positive end.

In the most recent meeting, all parties spent again before the decisive coordination and were able to express their view of things. The CDU started. For the Christian Democrats, Member of the Landtag, Marcus Optendrenk, focused on the importance of uniform regulation for online gambling. The provisions of the Gaming State Treaty are the right step in view of the developments in the industry, since the terrestrial offers would continue to shift to digital space. Without corresponding legislation, no fair and above all protective rules could be set up. For this reason, control for online gambling is inevitable. At the same time, the creation of legal offers fight the illegal gambling and thus keep the black market crucial.

Modern regulation. Despite isolated disagreements, the government coalition was closed behind the new State Treaty. The FDP MP Angela Freimuth gave the CDU backing accordingly and, in addition to combating the illegal online gambling game and the sewer mission, also mentioned youth and player protection. The current state contract would no longer cover the modern conditions of the gambling market. For this reason, the new legislation is exactly the right step because it would create a modern legal framework.

Criticism remains

Not only the ruling parties showed unity. The opposition, on the whole, also represented a uniform opinion and did not save with criticism during the state parliament session. A fact that was to be expected, since the SPD, AfD and Bündnis90/The Greens in the previous parliamentary readings shot sharply against the provisions of the new Gaming State Treaty. The focus of the criticism was The poor protective measures for the players, which were previously highlighted by the FDP, and the operational limit of 1,000 $ per month. In this regard, Elisabeth Müller-With, NRW member of the SPD member of the state parliament, indicated that the risk of debt would only be increased with this upper limit.

The Greens also bothered the excessive loss, but relied on their negative attitude much more on player protection. The MP Arndt Klocke stated on behalf of his party that although one was generally for a modernized gambling law, the elaboration of the player protection was not sufficient. The current version of the GlüstV would not only Funish the risk of addiction of the players, but also accommodate a financial risk that is too high.

“Consent with abdominal pain”. In the AfD camp, too, the current implementation of the Gaming State Treaty is displeased. MP Andreas Keith emphasized that the new law was a step in the right direction, but the youth and player protection are falling by the wayside. Nevertheless, his party gave her approval.

More compromise than unity

Although the government and opposition disagreed in many points, he was right NRW Landtag the new state of gambling. The critical-old parties vehemently expressed their concerns, but ultimately gave the green light. The desire for a uniform regulation of the gaming industry is too great, after having missed the upheaval for years. The new legislation should now finally specify modernized rules of the game. However, many of the measures in the eyes of the oppositional parties are not perfect.

SPD remains stubborn. As the only party, the SPD did not deviate from its negative attitude and voted against the ratification of the Game State Treaty. In the eyes of the Social Democrats, player protection was deficient on all levels. However, the vote will not change the fact that the new State Treaty will come into force on July 1, 2021. With North Rhine-Westphalia, all 16 federal states have now approved the GlüstV. The decision of the NRW state parliament was only symbolic in nature, since only 13 of the 16 countries had to give their okay so that legislation can be legitimized.