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The National Problem Gambling Clinic employs psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and counselling psychologists who have received broad training to doctoral level in both NHS and academic settings in the identification, management and treatment of a range of mental health disorders and addictions. The core clinical team at the clinic have a combined 30 years of experience in the management and treatment of gambling disorders.

The National Problem Gambling Clinic has also served an essential function since its inception in the training of a range of mental health professionals in the treatment of problem gambling. Since opening, over 100 psychology and psychiatry professionals have worked in the clinic, going on to work in other mental health arenas taking the knowledge and awareness of the problem and treatment options with them. The clinic has also provided a regular contribution to the research literature on problem gambling and treatment in international publications. We offer the following services for gamblers and affected others:

• Individual psychological support using tried methods and techniques
• Behavioural couples therapy
• Support groups
• Psychiatric reviews
• Medication for problem gambling
• Family therapy.

Psychological support is offered in the form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Research shows that CBT is an effective treatment for problem gambling. CBT is a form of talking therapy with a 'hear and now' focus.

It can be used to help people identify and manage the triggers to their problem behaviour, challenge irrational thinking and find ways to better cope with feelings, thoughts and urges that may precede a gambling episode. You and your therapist will work together to help you develop strategies and techniques to help you achieve your own treatment goal.

Your therapist will encourage you to harness your resources and strengths to help tackle your gambling problem. CBT places an emphasis on putting what has been learned into practice between sessions, sometimes termed 'homework'. This homework may consist of filling out sheets to enhance awareness, trying out new ways of coping and developing new, more helpful behaviours including new hobbies. This work is seen as vital to the treatment effectiveness.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a treatment focusing on relational and emotional difficulties contributing to the initiation and maintenance of problem gambling difficulties. It may be of use with those who have failed to maintain abstinence using CBT methods or for those who are clear that there are emotional reasons for their lapses.

2.1        What regulatory licences, permits, authorisations or other official approvals (collectively, “Licences”) are required for the lawful offer of the Relevant Products to persons located in your jurisdiction?

It will depend on the gambling product as to whether licences are available, and which licences or other permits are required or can be applied for, for the lawful offer of the relevant products to persons located in Germany.  By product, the following licences are currently available to private operators:

Casino gaming (including poker): Licence for the operation of land-based casinos (although the majority of casinos are state-operated).  Licences for operating online casino games may become available as soon as states implement tendering procedures or local monopolies for these games.  The timing of future licensing opportunities is not clear yet.  Online operators can further apply in Saxony-Anhalt for licences for operating virtual slot games and online poker.  The German gambling regulations do not provide for B2B licensing and, accordingly, there is no obligation on suppliers/developers to apply for such licences.  Any virtual slot game needs to be approved by the authority, and tested by a test lab accepted by the regulator.  The Saxony-Anhalt regulator plans on publishing a whitelist of approved games in the future.  It may be necessary to submit games via multiple operators until the game has been added to the whitelist.

Sports betting: Licence for the operation and brokerage of online sports betting across Germany, and for land-based sports betting in betting shops.  Sports betting licences have been issued since November 2020.

Horse race betting: Bookmaker licence under the Race Betting and Lottery Act, as well as the online horse betting licence pursuant to sec. 27(2) of the Interstate Treaty.

Slot machine gaming: Licence for land-based slot machine gaming (AWPs) in gaming halls or restaurants and bars as well as virtual slot game licences.

Lotteries: Licence for the brokerage of traditional state lottery products (land-based and online); licence for the operation of charitable lotteries which have their draw results published no more than twice a week, have a top prize worth less than EUR 3 million and do not have a scheduled jackpot.  The operation of traditional lottery products, such as the national lottery or other large-scale lotteries, as well as pool betting, is subject to the state monopoly.  Private operators may not apply for such licences.  They may only apply for a licence allowing brokerage of the state lottery products.  Operating secondary lotteries is seen as illegal betting activity by German regulators and it is an enforcement priority for regulators.

2.2        Where Licences are available, please outline the structure of the relevant licensing regime.

There is no uniform structure for all licensing regimes in Germany.  In terms of the application requirements, the licensing proceedings under the Interstate Treaty, including sports betting and virtual slot machines, generally follow the requirements set out at question 2.3 below.  The licensure of sports betting and virtual slot machines essentially consists of only two stages, i.e. the application stage where the regulator expects a written request to be issued with a licence and complete submission of application documents, and a post-licensing stage where the licence is to be implemented according to an implementation plan to be approved by the regulator.

2.3        What is the process of applying for a Licence for a Relevant Product?

Since each licensing process depends on the kind of licence an operator applies for, the regulations do not provide for a general timeline for licensing proceedings.  Any application process will, however, set out certain requirements that the applicant or the business needs to fulfil in order to qualify for a licence.  These will mainly concern the applicant’s reliability and expertise, and will include examining the applicant’s financial capability.  Furthermore, applicants will need to demonstrate that they are willing to provide safe and transparent services and wish to comply with the gaming regulation.  It is a characteristic of German licensing processes that applicants will be required to prove their qualifications by submitting so-called “concepts”, i.e. detailed descriptions of their business and related policies (including, e.g., responsible gaming, IT security, AML, business and marketing concepts).  In other words, the “concepts” are the policies and guidelines of the business to be licensed.

2.4        Are any restrictions placed upon licensees in your jurisdiction?

Every licence is restricted with regard to its duration and requires the licensee to be, and remain, “reliable”, i.e. ensure good business conduct is adhered to, comply with local laws and tax obligations, as well as to promote personal reliability of staff.  In addition, licences are often issued under conditions such as refraining from certain publicity measures.  The Interstate Treaty restricts the application of the licence to the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and countries that recognise the German permit for their sovereign territories.  Licences issued by states, which have no cross-state effect, will generally be limited in scope to the territory of the state in question.

2.5        Please give a summary of the following features of any Licences: (i) duration; (ii) vulnerability to review, suspension or revocation.

Licences for the operation of land-based casinos, issued under the Casino Acts of the different states, usually have a licence term of about 10 years with an option to extend the term for a further five years.  Licences issued under the Gaming Act of Schleswig-Holstein lasted for six years but effectively were extended by means of a transitional regulation, which could extend Schleswig-Holstein online casino licences until 31 December 2024.  Sports betting licences issued under the former Interstate Treaty, originally valid until 30 June 2021, were automatically extended under the Interstate Treaty 2021 until the end of 2022 if they were valid on 30 June 2021 and the licensees complied with the changed requirements under the Interstate Treaty 2021.  Sports betting, virtual slot machine and online poker licences under the Interstate Treaty 2021 have an initial licence term of five years.  Subsequent licences shall have a licence term of seven years.

Any licensee needs to comply with all the requirements during the whole period of holding the licence.  If an operator fails to comply with the licence conditions, any licence may be revoked.  Licences, however, will not be revoked immediately and without prior notice.  Operators will usually be contacted by the regulators and will be given a chance to comment on and review the alleged violations of the licence conditions and to resolve the issues within a certain timeframe.

2.6        By Relevant Product, what are the key limits on providing services to customers?  Please include in this answer any material promotion and advertising restrictions.

Casino gaming (including poker): Some federal states limit the number of tables and slots allowed in casinos.  However, there are no restrictions on pay-outs, maximum wins/losses or the duration of games.  Barred players may not enter the gaming area or play in casinos.  Strict entrance controls need to be established in order to ensure that this is the case.  These controls include matching the players with a nationwide player-barring database.  Online casino licences apply on a state-by-state basis and the states have yet to decide whether to operate a state monopoly on online casino games or whether to allow licences to be issued to private operators, too.  The maximum number of online casino licences per state is limited by and supposed to equal the number of bricks-and-mortar casinos in a specific state.  “Online casino games” are defined as “virtual replications of banker games and live broadcasts of a terrestrial banker game that can be played over the internet”, which effectively means table games and live casinos.

Virtual slot licences have been available since the new Interstate Treaty entered into force.  Key restrictions include a EUR 1 stake limit per spin, five seconds minimum spin duration, no autoplay function and the prohibition of jackpots.  The high stake tax, which was introduced in parallel, will result in a low RTP.

Online poker licences can be applied for with the Saxony-Anhalt regulator.  The number of tables a player can play at simultaneously is limited (up to four).  Further restrictions on bets will be set out in the licence.  Video poker is currently not licensable.

Sports betting: Fixed odds fantasy betting is permissible under the Interstate Treaty, but (fantasy) betting involving a pool (tote) remains subject to a state monopoly.  Bets on anything other than sports are prohibited, e.g. financial or social betting.  Regarding in-play betting, the situation is unclear.  The Interstate Treaty prohibits some forms of in-play betting, but fails to provide a clear definition of these prohibited in-play bets.  Also, the competent authority, the Hessian Ministry of the Interior, and other institutions have so far not provided any clear guidance as to what exactly they consider prohibited/permissible bet types.  Further controversy must be expected on the question of prohibited/permissible bet types going forward.  In addition, the Interstate Treaty includes a maximum monthly cross-operator deposit limit in the amount of EUR 1,000 per player to be adhered to.  Exemptions might be possible up to an amount of EUR 30,000 per month under certain circumstances.  The cross-operator system called “LUGAS” shall ensure that the deposit limit is complied with and that players do not log in with more than one provider at a time and are not currently barred.  At the time of writing, the LUGAS system is not fully operational yet and trade associations have raised substantial legal concerns over the compliance of LUGAS with data protection laws.  In a betting shop context, restrictions to the number of permissible betting shops per licensee/area, as well as minimum distance requirements between betting shops and other gambling premises are key restrictions.  Betting shop licences can only be issued once the national sports betting licence has been issued.

Horse race betting: Operators of horse race betting have to comply with certain stake limitations, e.g. bookmakers operating on racecourses may not accept stakes of less than EUR 15 and regarding online horse race betting, a monthly deposit limit of EUR 1,000 needs to be adhered to.

Slot machine gaming: Other than slot machine gaming in casinos, slot machine gaming offered on other premises such as gaming halls, restaurants or bars is subject to multiple restrictions.  These restrictions predominantly deal with the number of machines allowed (gaming halls: maximum 12, restaurants/bars: maximum two), minimum distances between gaming halls, ranging from 250m to 500m, and game restrictions (minimum/maximum stakes, pay-out ratios and duration of games).  For virtual slot games, see above.

Lotteries (including tote): Lotteries may not be operated by private operators.  They are subject to the state monopoly, i.e. the 16 lottery companies that together form the State Lottery and Tote Association (Deutscher Lotto and Totoblock).

Material promotion and advertising restrictions in relation to the above: Advertising of games of chance is subject to a very restrictive regime in Germany and is affected by an abundance of laws and regulations, including the Interstate Treaty, the Gaming Acts of the individual states, the Code of Practice of the German Advertising Council, the Act Against Unfair Competition and specific minor protection legislation, such as the Act for the Protection of Minors, the Interstate Treaty on Broadcasting and the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media.  In general, advertising measures must not be directed at minors or other vulnerable target groups and must not be misleading.  Operators will typically be required to submit a marketing concept before advertising, which sets out how they intend to advertise their products whilst sufficiently ensuring player protection at the same time.

Often, particularly in the land-based casino sector, the licences issued will specify further advertising restrictions.  Any advertising of unauthorised games of chance, misleading advertising or advertising directed at minors or other risk groups is prohibited.  Under the Interstate Treaty 2021, operators no longer need to obtain separate advertising permits.  New restrictions under this Interstate Treaty include a watershed between 06:00 and 21:00 hours for virtual slot games and online poker (and online casino games) as well as restrictions on affiliate advertising, including a ban on revenue share-based remuneration.  Further restrictions apply and will be set out in the licence or by the authority.

2.7        What are the tax and other compulsory levies?

A characteristic of the taxation of gambling products is that it largely depends on the product type and the regulations in the respective federal state.  Accordingly, tax rates vary considerably throughout Germany.

The amended Race Betting and Lotteries Act of 2021 introduced a 5.3% tax on stakes for sports and horse race betting, virtual slot games and online poker.  Since the tax is deducted from the tax base, the effective rate is 5.03%.  The tax is particularly high for virtual slot games and will lead to a dramatic drop in RTP.  The gambling tax has to be self-declared on a monthly basis.

Land-based casino operators are exempt from corporate taxation but must generally pay taxes on gross gaming revenue (“GGR” – the amount by which the total of all stakes exceeds the total of all winnings paid out) or are subject to a combination of GGR and profit taxation.  Tax rates range between 20% and 80% per state.  Some states impose additional levies or apply progressive tax rates depending on the economic capability of the casino operator.

In addition to regular corporate taxes, offline slot machine operators have to pay municipal amusement tax.  Depending on the law of the respective municipality, slot machine operators are subject to a 12%–20% amusement tax, which is based on the GGR generated from the slot machines.

Betting shop owners may be subject to betting shop taxes of up to 3% on stakes.  Municipalities are authorised to introduce such taxes on a local basis.  Betting shop taxes apply independently from the federal sports betting tax.

2.8        What are the broad social responsibility requirements?

Preventing gambling addiction and criminal acts, channelling players into the regulated market and away from the black markets as well as ensuring the integrity of sports are key objectives of the Interstate Treaty.  Consequently, numerous requirements linked to social responsibility apply, such as the qualification and reliability of the operators being prerequisites for acquiring a licence.  These requirements essentially focus on the protection of players and minors and the safety of gambling operations.  Safety is, in this context, defined as: offering safe payment and transaction methods; adhering to youth, customer and data protection laws; keeping AML and IT standards; and being reliable in paying taxes and levies.

Gambling operators are required to prepare a so-called “social concept” to demonstrate their policy and approach towards the protection of players and minors and intended measures in order to reach these goals.  Operators need to be familiar with the impact of games of chance, and the inherent risk of addiction, and show this in their social concepts.  Staff need to be continuously trained and vetted on detecting problematic gambling behaviour and on the responsible operation, execution and commercial brokerage of public games of chance.

Responsible gambling also means ensuring that minors and barred players do not participate in gambling activities.  Key requirements to ensure protection of minors and individuals susceptible to problem gambling are checking the players’ ID, age verification and matching them against the public player barring database referred to as “OASIS”.  Interacting with OASIS is mandatory for any licenced operator (with the exception of lotteries).  Easily accessible information about self-exclusion via OASIS, and the possibility of taking gaming breaks, mandatory breaks during online gaming every hour and at least for five minutes when playing virtual slot games has to be provided by the operator.

Players should be encouraged to assess their own gambling activities by reality checks and self-tests, need to be able to set their own deposit, stake or loss limits (the monthly deposit limit is mandatory under the Interstate Treaty) and need to be made aware of the risk of addiction through brochures or responsible gaming websites.  Gambling operators are required to offer information on where players may seek help, such as contact details of support services (counselling and therapy).

2.9        How do any AML, financial services regulations or payment restrictions restrict or impact on entities supplying gambling?  Does your jurisdiction permit virtual currencies to be used for gambling and are they separately regulated?

In implementing the Fourth Anti-Money-Laundering Directive (“4AMLD”), Germany introduced a new AML Act which entered into force on 26 June 2017 and was amended with effect of 1 January 2020.  As expected in the course of the implementation of the 4AMLD, AML obligations have been extended to more land-based operations.  Before the new AML Act entered into force, only casinos were subject to certain AML obligations if transactions exceeded a threshold of EUR 2,000 in the land-based sector; now sports betting retail outlets are equally affected.

In an online gambling environment, if operators are not licenced in Germany, are based in the EU and do not have a local presence in Germany but do target German customers, the applicability of the AML Act can be questioned.  German regulators have, however, made it very clear that they consider the AML Act to be applicable and that they are going to enforce German AML requirements, and the Implementation Guidelines, on how to implement the AML Act in the gambling sector, which were published in November 2020.  Consequently, online gaming operators serving German customers are advised to adopt appropriate and extensive risk management systems and to familiarise themselves with the extensive requirements.

The German AML Act is particularly strict on customer due diligence (“KYC”) and on gambling-related payment transactions.  In terms of KYC, it is mandatory for players in online gambling to be identified and verified upon registration – the EUR 2,000 threshold does not apply regarding online gambling.  Anonymous payment methods, including cash vouchers, are banned in online gambling-related transactions.  Multi-accounting is prohibited, which means that each customer must only be provided with a single account.  A key transparency requirement to payments is payment verification, i.e. the operator is obliged to establish that the player is the actual owner of the payment method.  The Implementation Guidelines suggest that a simple check on the side of the operator will not suffice but that the Payment Service Provider (“PSP”) has to be involved in payment verification.

2.10      What (if any) restrictions were placed during the COVID-19 pandemic?  Are they still in force?

No specific restrictions were imposed on the gambling sector during the COVID-19 pandemic– however, during the periods of lockdown, land-based gambling premises had to be closed in line with general public health requirements imposed on retail businesses.  Online gambling operations were able to operate unimpeded by such restrictions.

The strict new measures, which will be introduced in response to a consultation that launched in July last year, will need to be implemented by all licensees by 31 October this year.

Among the new measures will be an outright ban on certain standard features of slot games, including autoplay options.

According to the Commission, research has shown that using an autoplay feature has been linked to some players losing track of play, making it difficult for some to stop playing. In some cases, players have used this to gamble on other activities simultaneously.

Meanwhile, slot games with spin speeds faster than 2.5 seconds will also be banned, while operators must also remove features that speed up play or give the illusion of control over the outcome.

Sounds or imagery that give the impression of a win when the return is in fact equal to, or below, a stake, will also be banned.

Other measures include a permanent ban on reverse withdrawals, a function that allows players to re-gamble money they had previously requested to withdraw from their account.

The Commission said evidence gathered during the consultation showed that reverse withdrawal functions present a risk to players because of the temptation to continue gambling.

In addition, operators will be required to clearly display to the player their total losses or wins and time played during any online slots session.

“This is another important step in making gambling safer and where the evidence shows that there are other opportunities to do that we are determined to take them,” Commission chief executive Neil McArthur said.

Minister for Sports, Tourism and Heritage Nigel Huddleston also welcomed the move. He said: “Today’s steps will help curb the intensity of online gambling, introducing greater protections that will reduce the risk of gambling related harm.

“I welcome the Gambling Commission’s tough measures as we continue our comprehensive review of gambling laws to make sure they’re fit for the digital age.”

Changes to slot game rules form part of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to help make gambling fairer and safer for players. This has also seen the introduction of strengthened protections around online age and ID verification, improved customer interaction practices, and the banning of gambling on credit cards.

In September last year, the Commission also announced it was to introduce new rules to stamp out irresponsible VIP customer practices. A consultation on customer interaction was also launched in November, with the outcome expected later this year.

In accordance with the Province of Ontario, as of March 21, 2022, masks and/or face coverings will not be required when visiting the casino floor, indoor dining establishments and live entertainment. Niagara Casinos respects an individual’s choice to continue wearing a mask after this date.Please note, if wearing a mask to enter the gaming floor, you will be asked to temporarily remove the mask for identification purposes.Our health and safety protocols will still be in place to ensure that Niagara Casinos remain safe to stay, safe to dine, and safe to play!

Whether you have noticed or nor, virtual reality is already here, and it is evolving all the time. In recent years there have been enormous advances in VR software and hardware, and the number of industries that can benefit from those technologies is endless. For example, in the near future, a trainee surgeon may be able to perform a mock surgery in a virtual reality environment or a plumber may be able to use a VR headset to see the data for each part of a boiler.

One industry that is already using virtual reality is online casinos. VR is already transforming online gambling platforms right now, and you can expect it to transform them even more as virtual reality technology continues to evolve.