G3-247 Report GERMANY AWPs Sports games
Amusement machines Pinballs
Internet terminals
Points games/jukeboxes Video games
263,000
(2,000 less than in 2012) 18,000
(billiards, darts, table-football, etc) 34,800 2,100
20,500 2,400 9,800
FACTS AND FIGURES The German Machine Manufacturers Association
(VDAI) together with the Institute for Public Research – University of Munich (ifo) have pub- lished data on the number of amusement and gaming machines in operation in 2013:
The German gaming and amusement industry is split into three categories – manufacturers, dis- tributors and operators. The combined turnover of the industry was €5.405bn in 2013. The greatest turnover was made by operators at €4.465bn. The manufacturers and distributors achieved a com- bined turnover of €940m, 10.5 per cent less than in 2012. The industry employs around 70,000 peo- ple in Germany.
Mr. Kubicki is renowned in
Germany for his plain-speaking manner. “Should all McDonald’s be banned to fight against obesity?” he asked.
closing times have produced an alarming number of break-ins as a knock-on effect.
The IMA itself drew in slightly less people than in 2012. According to Reed Exhibitions, the IMA organiser, there were 9,156 visitors this year over the four days.
The introduction of the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag (Interstate Gambling Treaty) in July 2012 hailed major changes to the industry. The individual states became responsible for AWP gaming and not the federal government. Multi-concessions (large arcades) are set to be banned from 2017 onwards. Next to no new arcades were permitted in 2013. The market is no longer in growth mode but is consolidating. The industry is fighting the political backlash and it cannot be said at this moment what this outcome will be. State arcade laws have been enacted. Most arcades cannot open 24/7 any more. In Berlin, for example, arcades must close for eight hours during the night. These closing hours have brought a spate of break-ins and robberies. The number of AWPs per concession has been reduced in Hamburg and Berlin (from 12 to eight in Berlin). Local authorities have the right to impose an amusement tax (Vergnügungssteuer). Only Bavaria has refrained. Amusement tax has increased massively over the past years (3.6 times the 2006 figure). This tax increased by 19.5 per cent in 2013 to approx. €700m (in 2012 the increase was 28.5 per cent).
THE OPENING CEREMONY Paul Gauselmann, the founder and chairman of
the Gauselmann Group, continues to be the domi- nant political force in the German AWP industry. Taking one look at how the opening ceremony was organised made that clear. As the chairman of the German Gaming Machine Association (VDAI), Mr. Gauselmann was the main speaker. The AWP industry in Germany does not have a good image with the general public and politicians often noto- riously side against this industry to gain popular support (especially during election campaigns).
Thus, gaining a top politician as keynote speaker is a very difficult task. This person, Wolfgang Kubicki of the FDP (liberal party) himself stated that some politicians had asked him whether he believed gambling was actually on a par with prostitution and money laundering. Thus, it takes guts for a German politician to stand up and speak at the IMA.
Mr. Kubicki is renowned in Germany for his plain- speaking manner and was surely not afraid of any potential negative reaction from other politicians. The liberal party is most likely to be invited to such functions as their attitude reflects most the position of the industry; that adults should be allowed to choose how to spend their time and income and not be forced by the state to channel this away from certain past-times. “Should all MacDonald’s be banned to fight against obesity?” was his rhetorical question. He made it clear that there is absolutely no link between banning gam- ing and reducing gambling addiction. Gambling will just move to other forms, such as online gam- bling. This complies with the message of Mr. Gauselmann from recent IMA’s – players will play elsewhere and regardless of any bans. The state will lose out on billions of euros in taxes and the industry will lose tens of thousands of jobs. Mr. Kubicki stated that the German state cannot believe it can control gambling in the globalised world we live in. “I can and will not accept this,” was his comment. He spoke encouraging words to the audience, stating, “Go to court, be active and fight for your rights! We need a clear and unam- biguous regulation at national level.”
Mr. Kubicki made three clear statements: Firstly, coherence – the same rules for all gaming seg- ments. Secondly, making these segments legal and approved for use. The third element is trans- parency on the risk of a gambling addiction and creating a policy to minimise this risk. The general public should decide for themselves how to lead their lives and not be told how to do this by the state.
The industry has certainly come of age and more and more time, energy and money is being focused on the issue of problem gambling. The industry realises that they are offering an enter- tainment product that bears a risk. This risk needs to be defined, managed and minimised. It was only fitting that Pieter Remmers from Assissa Consultancy Europe was a podium speaker. Mr. Remmers is an expert in the field of responsible gaming. He was at pains to explain that there is no simple solution. As a Dutchman, local data is close to his heart. He cited that in the Netherlands there are 40,000 young people classified as addicted to poker. Yet when he wished to analyse this, he could not pin this number down. Clearly more research has to be done. The statement that high stakes gaming creates more problems gamblers than low-stake gaming is just a statement and not a fact. Otherwise, this low-stake and prizes industry would not be facing such radical changes in the near future. Even though the percentage of addicted players in Germany at 2.6 per cent is
4 1
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 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60