MuchBetter Co-Founder Jens Bader believes the decision to ratify the Third German State Treaty on Gambling represents an "opportunity missed."
Bader is based in Austria through his work with payments supplier MuchBetter, specialising in German-speaking gaming markets, and feels the legislation does not go far enough.
The latest amendment aims to extend the trial phase of Germany’s online sports betting market (previously, there was no private competition) and will lift the current limit on operator licenses.
However, any licenses issued will only be valid between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2021, prompting the MuchBetter Co-Founder to anticipate a level of "uncertainty."
Bader is also concerned the Treaty neglects the casino vertical and only focuses on sports wagering.
He said: "We will look back on today as an opportunity missed. This was a big chance to decide the future of online gambling across the German-speaking market, but we’re left with more uncertainty and only a placeholder agreement.
"It’s good that there are no more artificial restrictions on the number of licences awarded to operators, but today’s vote was far from decisive on other issues including the legality of online gambling, casino and poker.
"It is very naïve to think these issues will go away, or that a country can pick and choose which parts of gambling it likes. This is not how the rest of the world works and by only allowing sports betting, Germany could make it very difficult for operators to comply.
"Casinos won’t go away. They will continue to operate under the licences they have, with prohibition enforcement in the transitional period unlikely."
