GERMANY MARKET REPORT
Non-prize games In 2010, there were an estimated 38,200 amusement machines without prizes, comprising 22,000 Internet terminals; 10,300 video games; 3650 miscellaneous products such as touchscreen machines and jukeboxes; and 2250 pinball machines. There were also 22,300 sport-games machines, a category covering billiards, darts, table soccer, air hockey and the like.
Taxation Taxes vary across the country but can be as high as 25 percent of gross revenue.
Casinos Casinos have lost share of the overall gaming market because of admission controls. There are both land-based and cruise-ship casinos. The land-based part of the sector comprises around 55 venues, with the biggest concentration in Hamburg. Casinos typically have 80-150 slots as well as table games.
Regulatory developments German authorities are reported to be considering new
restrictions on AWPs, including a reduction in maximum prizes. Also on the table are compulsory closing times for gaming
www.euroslot-online.com
arcades, an advertising ban, and the right for individual states to limit the number of operating licences and enforce minimum distances between venues. The federal government is also contemplating a reduction in the maximum permitted number of machines in each pub or bar, from three to two.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the state monopoly on sports betting in Germany was illegal because the same rules did not apply to casinos and slot machines.
The ECJ also released its judgment in a case concerning gaming-hall operator Leo-Libera and the application of VAT on gaming machines in Germany. It said that German laws were in compliance with EU legislation allowing member states broad rights to determine the conditions and limitations of exemptions for VAT on certain forms of gambling. Leo-Libera had argued that its gaming machines should not be subject to VAT. Arcades fall within the category that the relevant law describes as “other forms of gaming”, Leo-Libera suggested, and should therefore be exempt.
But the ECJ said that the gaming machines in question are not
in competition with other types of gaming that come into the “other forms” category and enjoy VAT relief.
10 SEPTEMBER 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32