The European Gaming and Betting Association has advised lawmakers in Germany that an order blocking online gaming payments will not deter gamblers but could lead them to less secure payment options.
Earlier this month Boris Pistorius, Lower Saxony’s minister for home affairs and sports, ordered a cease-and-desist order against a “large, international payment service provider from participating in payment transactions in connection with illegal gambling in Germany.” The provider was not named.
The Niedersachsen government wants to implement the payment blocking order across Germany, restricting the incumbents to sports betting only in keeping with the transitional mandate of Germany’s State Treaty on Gambling.
But the EGBA says payment blocking should not be part of German gaming’s re-regulation. “Restrictive or prohibitive measures, such as payment blocking measures, are an attempt to create artificial walls around online markets and can be ineffective and detrimental to player protection,” said Maarten Haijer, EBGA Secretary-General. “That’s because online gambling is, like any other online consumer market, consumer-driven and players can easily search around the internet for alternative products, brands or the payment means they prefer.
“Trying to limit the options available to players will not change this reality and – by restricting their choices – might be counterproductive because it will push players towards unlicensed or unregulated websites, where they might be exposed to inadequate consumer protections and chances of redress.
“To remedy this, the German authorities should establish an attractive and modern online gambling regulation which acknowledges that many Germans play online casino games and ensures they—and all other players—can play within a safe and regulated environment.”
In a previous statement, Haijer said the order is “not only in breach of the EU’s internal market principles but out of step with the reality of a consumer-driven betting market, where players will inevitably search around the internet for value and choice in the games they play. … Norway is one of only two EEA countries which do not have a licensing regime yet—but it is inevitable they will have to confront this decision sooner or later.”
He contends that a multi-licensing regime “would be a win-win: it would encourage more effective channeling which would benefit player protection, more effective local control of gambling activity and increased tax revenue for the Norwegian state.”
