The online poker industry in Germany is facing a major challenge following the introduction of  new legislation that puts tighter controls on the game’s availability. The new changes include lower table and deposit caps, stricter verification requirements, and seating adjustments.
Online poker operators were ordered to comply with the changes effective October 15, as a way of preparing them and their players for the full implementation of the new regulations which come into effect from July 2021.
Impact On Players
As part of the changes, German online poker players can no longer play more than four tables simultaneously, and their deposits for each month must not go beyond €1,000. Furthermore, the seating or table select option now becomes a thing of the past. The German government has also made sure operators comply with safe and responsible gaming measures by requiring them to add a “panic button” which will enable players to impose a self-ban right away.
Germany has some of the highest taxes imposed on poker players. The additional restrictions make the country a more unattractive place for the pros. In fact, a number of German professional poker players already left their home country to find better opportunities elsewhere. With the enforcement of the table and deposit limits, we can expect more of them relocating for good.
While the pros have the option to move to other jurisdictions to pursue their respective poker careers, recreational players have different priorities and so they will likely stay in Germany, but they will be forced to limit their poker activity. Additional requirements relating to KYC verification might also push away potential new customers. As a result, the German poker industry will suffer.
Impact On Poker Operators
The new changes will force online poker sites to introduce changes to their operations. While some operators were willing to make adjustments in order to be fully compliant with the new rules, other operators were not willing to make those changes and decided to exit the German market.
Ladbrokes, Betfair, and Redbet are among operators which reportedly abandoned the market as soon as key details of the new legislation have been released. Meanwhile, major operators like PokerStars, partypoker, 888poker, GGNetwork, and Unibet have already implemented changes in line with the new rules.
PokerStars Europe will no longer accept German customers, and existing German accounts on the segregated network have already been terminated. The operator has also removed player-to-player transfers.
At partypoker, German players will be migrated to a new client. The site also reportedly awarded tournament tickets to those who were able to complete additional KYC verification before the October 15 deadline.
Effective November 2, all 888poker players will be playing from a new client. The site released the details of this move via a FAQ page. While the decision will likely disappoint many players, the operator promised it will launch more and better promotions, alongside a new range of payment options.
Over at GGNetwork, Natural8 players will now be part of the GG client. As a result, they will no longer be able to access a number of promotions that are specific only to Natural8. Players were informed of the changes through an email.
Unibet’s desktop client will now be replaced with a web client to adhere to the regulations. But the site did not confirm whether or not it will close its desktop client permanently. They only confirmed that they will be making it compliant but did not provide any timeline.
Phil Galfond’s Run It Once poker room decided to temporarily pull out from the German market in the wake of the new regulations. But the site promised it will go back to serving German customers probably by December.
Another operator that’s speculated to withdraw from Germany is Winamax. The site is part of a regulated European shared liquidity agreement, so there’s a high chance it will also exit the market anytime soon. As of now, German players can no longer access the site.