New German directives
MICROGAMING’S COLEMAN TALKS GERMANY, JACKPOTS AND CSR THE GERMAN GAMBLING MARKET is “brimming with
opportunity and potential”, says Microgaming CEO John Coleman, who is of “no doubt” that the region will be well worth the time and money required to meet the standards set
C
oleman, who has held a senior leadership role at Microgaming since joining the business in 2004, made the comments in a wide-ranging sit-down with SBC Leaders where he tackled the ‘Tolerance Policy,’ the integral role of jackpots, and continually strengthened focus upon corporate social responsibility. Last year, Germany’s 16 federal states confirmed that they had approved a
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transitional tolerance policy for the period ahead of the implementation of the Interstate Treaty 2021. The new rules will officially come into effect in July 2021, after which the relevant licences can be issued. But in the meantime, operators were permitted to engage with the market provided they adopt the new regulatory measures. Those that ignore the new regulations were warned that they could face exclusion from the future official licensing procedure.
The new directives included reality check functionality, max win, fivesecond spin intervals, monthly deposit caps, and maximum stake limits coupled with the removal of autoplay and progressive jackpots, which is said to have been introduced to further promote social responsibility and minimise gambling-related harm. Subsequently, Microgaming, which also unveiled a renewed poker commitment in 2020 following the closure of its MPN poker network months earlier, became one of a multitude of firms facing the race against time to become compliant with the new regime. Outlining plans to make more than 150 of its games available to customers in the market, the supplier emphasised that “as a socially responsible
