Online Slots Boost Germany’s Gambling Revenue

Germany s gambling industry is seeing good results from the addition of . Only a few months in, the country received an increase in tax revenue of about 15.5% because of the expanded market.

German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner makes a presentation shortly after taking office last year. The ministry provided an update on gambling tax revenue, showing a 15.5% year-on-year increase for the third quarter. (Image: Associated Press)

Last week, the German Ministry of Finance released (in German) of the country s gambling industry for the third quarter. It reported total tax revenue of €596.1 million (US$589 million).

Of the total, the online slot segment provided just under a third at €123.2 million (US$130.62 million). That s a decent increase from where the country was last year, when it was still trying to figure out its online gambling approach.

Germany Beginning to See the Light

Germany s has now been in place for a little more than a year, although it took several months to implement. With the third quarter of 2022 coming to a close, the German government is finally beginning to benefit from the expanded gaming options.

In the third quarter of last year, the country earned only around €32.7 million (US$32.31 million) from the online gaming segment. A year later, there still aren t many options, as most operators are shying away from the 5.3% revenue on their stakes. The segment is also suffering because some states, like Thuringia, established .

Online poker doubled its activity from last year, but it is still only a small piece of the larger market. It was worth €8 million (US$7.9 million) to the government, which collects 5.3% from them.

Germany is giving operators that previously targeted its market a chance to transition to the newly regulated market in hopes of seeing it grow. The plan is receiving mixed results, especially as the government takes a long time to issue new licenses.

Sports betting revenue dropped considerably in the quarter. It lost 47.8%, closing at €53.4 million (US$52.76 million). Several states saw losses, partially because they switched gears midstream.

Hesse, for example, cut off land-based sportsbooks for two months because of Senator for Internal Affairs Ulrich Müarer. He thought they were all guilty of , which he later found out wasn t true.

The state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the largest by population, controlled the lion s share of the tax revenue. It received €138.3 million (US$136.65 million). That helped push the year-to-year contribution for the industry to €1.96 billion (US$1.93 billion), a 20% increase.

More Online Slot Operators on the Way

German gamblers now have around a dozen online slot operators to choose from, as two more are planning to enter the market soon. The Sachsen-Anhalt State Administration Office, which oversees the licenses, just approved Interwetten and Novomatic s Admiral brand.

Interwetten will have two platforms running simultaneously in the country, interwetten.de, and lasmegas.de. Admiral, which will join Novomatic s Novoonline brand, will offer slots through its slots.admiralbet.de website.

Both of the new additions already had a presence in Germany, offering sports betting platforms to bettors. Novomatic also once had a hand in Mernov, the first online slot platform to receive a license before it changed hands.

The increase and the return of some sportsbooks will help Germany close out the year on an even higher note. The fourth quarter offers non-stop betting options, including the World Cup, as well as a more robust online gaming market to drive growth.