While modern Germany is a place where there’s room for Western entertainment and culture, it seems as if the gaming industry online has been affected by the backward institutional mentality for way too long by now. The good news is that this is about to change, but when we look at the recent development in Germany; it still looks as if liberal German iGaming is a concept for the future, hopefully the near future.
The Largest European Gaming Market
Surprisingly, the restrictions of iGaming in Germany have not stopped the country from developing into the largest European gaming market. Consider that Germany beats both the UK and France, not that it hasn’t happened before, but let’s forget about the wars and focus on the fun stuff, the gaming! Yes, German iGaming is now something to reckon with if you want a piece of the European market. The reason for this is that there are high hopes for some decent regulation of the online gaming which will allow it to expand just like the rest of the gaming in the country.
Still, there are some operators that are currently operating in Germany that the iGaming audience needs to know about. Those include bet365, Referback, InterPartners and Live Casino Partners. Check more out in our directory.
A Modern Nation
For online casinos, mobile gaming is at the top of the list of priorities for the upcoming years (if not months!). With so many players using mobile devices like Android, Smartphone and iPhone, one cannot deny that this is where much of the future of online gaming lies. Why is this important in relation to the world of German iGaming? The fact is that the German nation is highly accustomed to using the modern mobile phones for surfing the net. Julia Oentrich is a gaming industry expert from Germany Trade & Invest Berlin, and she has been quoted as saying that the German “Broadband coverage is excellent…” so it should be clear that the country has the right structures for massive iGaming.
She also mentioned that the ownership in Germany of Smartphones went up with 50% within one year. This is something to pay attention to, and adjustment of gaming sites looking to offer their online and mobile services to Germans should be set into motion.
Issues To Be Solved
Like many other European countries, Germany has had their doubts of liberating the online gaming since they are concerned with the effects on the general population in terms of gambling abuse and addiction. Their strictness has not been liked by the European Court of Justice that already in 2009, ruled the monopolies of German gaming as a violation of European law. The new rules introduced by Schleswig-Holstein, mid-December last year, did come with regulations of a more liberal kind, but it wasn’t enough to appease the giants in online gaming. As the law was sent off for inspection by the European Commission, gaming companies like Betfair were expected to raise their voices in protest to a regulation which is still too restrictive.
A Bright Future
The current activities in the world of German iGaming seem to point at a bright future. There is a high demand for a liberal online gaming market which will be in tune with the EU regulation and suggestions. This in conjunction with the high level of IT-infrastructure and general knowledge of online services can only lead to a better situation for the German gamers as well as for the people who are ready to serve them the games!
Bottom Line: if you have what the Germans are looking for, get ready to serve and feed their hungry iGaming market!