Identity verification company IDnow has welcomed that Germany’s 16 states have agreed to a transition period incorporating new gambling laws in October.
This transition clarifies existing and new mandates including age verification requirements for online gambling. The new regime officially enters into effect in July 2021.
“This is a big step for Germany’s online gambling industry, and again, it shows the importance of [electronic know your customer] methods and their need to evolve,” said Rayissa Armata, head of regulatory affairs at IDnow. “In a world that becomes more and more digital by the day, we need to stay vigilant and constantly adapt our security requirements.
“IDnow strives to contribute to responsible corporate citizenship, ensuring that the social responsibility for this industry can be achieved effectively through innovative methods. This is the strong desire of the federal and state governments within Germany, and IDnow has been and – will continue to be – an active supporter of those efforts.
Oliver Obitayo, CSO at IDnow, added, “We have developed our products together with our clients – the biggest players in the market – to perfectly meet their needs. IDnow offers AML compliant video verification, but also an approved automated verification solution.
“Gambling operators can choose, depending on their security needs, which of those multiple solutions they want to use. All of them fulfil mandatory age verification requirements. To us its more than important that our clients can offer safe service platforms to customers so underage use can be prevented.”
After a period of uncertainty, each of Germany’s 16 states have agreed to a transition period for online gambling in Germany before the official start date of July 1, 2021. This transition period is noted by the shared agreement to not punish gambling companies who conform to the new law that will officially go into effect next year.
In January 2020, the German states agreed on an amendment to the State Treaty on Gambling that also comes into effect July 1, 2021. This date was partly put into jeopardy, as was the process to issue sports betting licenses, in the first half of this year when matters came to a halt due to a court injunction sought by an Austrian gambling operator.
The new rules will make it possible for German players to play online casino games and online poker under strict regulations. Moreover, a wagering limit of €1 will be placed per spin for slot games, the number of licenses for table games will be limited to the number of physical locations for casinos in each state, and a €1,000 deposit limit will now be implemented across all online gambling verticals in Germany.
IDnow announced that it would acquire Wirecard Communication Services earlier this month. Wirecard Communication Services was previously part of payment processor Wirecard, which filed for insolvency on June 25 after $2.1bn of its finances were revealed to be missing. The company then announced that the money may have never existed in the first place.
The deal would see IDnow retain the Leipzig location and keep most of its employees.
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