Wust on arcade closings

The new gambling legislation continues to threaten the existence of countless arcades in USA. Due to the prescribed minimum distances, it looks dark for tens of facilities in many regions of the country. Even though some arcade operators can avoid the final end of the exemptions, it looks significantly worse for many other establishments. There are permanent closures. But now resistance seems to be rain. As can be seen from the industry media, politicians calculate with a wave of lawsuits.

Legal dispute in Baden-Württemberg

The im Gambling State Treaty (GlüStV) Fixed minimum distances have been a dispute since the development of a new regulation for the industry, which has been repeatedly Cooked up and the minds heated. In some federal states, the municipalities were able to obtain exceptional regulations and thus avoid a nationwide arcade closure for the time being, but not every district was so lucky.

In Baden-Württemberg, the situation is coming up again. According to matching media reports, the FDP politicians Julia Goll and Jochen Haußmann asked the state government to comment on an opinion that should provide information about the endangered arcades in the Rems-Murr district. According to the current status, of the 58 arcades in the district around 37 facilities acutely threatened, since you cannot comply with the minimum distance requirements of the Gaming State Treaty.

Minimum distance. The new gambling legislation provides for a minimum distance of 500 meters (air line) between venues. However, this regulation does not only apply between the individual arcades. The minimum distance must also be met with public institutions such as schools. The implementation of the new regulation leads to distance collisions in many counties. As a consequence, several venues are now in existence.

Leave municipalities to themselves

The situation in Baden-Württemberg is particularly dramatic, since the state government is the handling of the minimum distances without transparent communication and without a suitable concept passed on to the municipalities in the country have. At least that’s how Julia Goll sees it. The FDP politician explains in this regard on her website:

“The country is making a slim foot, the municipalities are in the rain as with local transport and the dishes rolls a wave of lawsuit. [The 37 announced closures] have not yet been made, since decisions about selection decisions and closure orders have not yet been made or the granting of preliminary legal protection has been applied for. ”– Julia Goll, FDP politician in the Rems-Murr district, Press release from Julia Goll

Occupational players request legal protection

Since none of the arcade operators, which are affected by the minimum distance regulation, have still closed their venue today, Goll and Haußmann have a wave of lawsuits to the dishes in Baden-Württemberg. The request for legal protection on the part of the operators also show that the affected arcades do not leave their fate without a fight will.

For Jochen Haußmann the Reaction of the operators understandable And not surprising. There would be too much at stake. In this regard, the FDP politician explained that the survival of the arcades was endangered by two factors:

“[It can be seen] that there is a risk to exist by an attack by two sides, the online area and by the legislator. […] And if the existence is taken. “– Jochen Haußmann, FDP politician in the Rems-Murr district, Press release from Julia Goll

Mass closures in Solingen

Land -covering closures also threaten the arcades in Solingen. As the Solinger Tageblatt Recently reported, however, the initiative does not go from the State Treaty, but from the city itself. So the local government has set itself the task of a total of 37 venues of the city to decimate on a maximum of seven facilities. The municipality has been following this agenda since 2018.

In this regard, Thomas Kraft, spokesman for the city of Solingen, indicated that a high game hall density always also included Annoyance for the environment be. At the same time, a broad line -up is not optimal for the mix in the cityscape. Accordingly, the local government pursues the goal of drastically reducing the venues. This applies especially to the city center.

Special regulation in NRW In contrast to many other federal states, the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament did not implement the Gaming State Treaty in its original version in state law. Under violent criticism from the search experts and consumer advocates, the state government decided to reduce the minimum distance to 100 meters. However, the implementation is not mandatory and is responsible for the respective municipalities. Solingen is now trying to use the room for interpretation of the minimum distance in order to drastically reduce the number of arcades in the city.

If the project chüzen and from the total of 37 venues in Solingen, only seven facilities should remain, the city would Cut off significant tax revenue. However, the local government accepts the financial losses, since the urban planning aspects and the prevention of gambling addiction are more important.