GVC Removes PayPal as Payment Option across Germany-Facing Casino Brands

The Isle of Man gambling powerhouse has decided to Eliminate PayPal as available payment option for casino players at Germany

Betting giant GVC Holdings has announced that PayPal will no more be accessible as a payment system for all of its casino products in Germany. In an emailed statement for its own affiliate partners, the business has stated that its German casino clients will not have the ability to transfer funds via PayPal from Wednesday, December 19.

The favorite online payment option will not be accessible across all of GVC’s Germany-facing casino brands, it has also been known.

Though the Isle of Man-headquartered firm hasn’t provided any advice as to why it has determined to remove PayPal as a payment method from Germany, its decision is very likely to have a lot to do with the country’s complex online gaming regulatory situation.

Germany has been attempting to adopt a uniform gaming laws that would allow global companies to acquire local licenses and provide sports betting solutions in a regulated environment for almost a decade now. However, its efforts have been contested by local courts and EU regulators as those which violated key EU principles for the free movement of services within the bloc.

Germany — GVC’s Largest Geographical Market

Germany has cemented itself as GVC’s largest geographical market, especially after the company acquired bwin.party Digital Entertainment ancient in 2016. GVC CEO Kenny Alexander stated during an investor call earlier this year which bwin was the best recognized sports gaming brand in the German marketplace and that neighborhood clients were familiar with it that they handled it as a national manufacturer, not an international one.

Mr. Alexander also commented about the future of Germany’s regulatory environment throughout that same call. He said that he has “never been confident” that the country would finally implement a well-functioning sports betting legislation. He added that German countries also have been evaluating the regulation of online poker and casino. The two actions were missing from the multiple previous regulation efforts made by local lawmakers through recent years.

It is also essential to note that, as figures show, Germany continues to be one of the key drivers of growth to GVC. According to the gaming giant’s third quarter trading update, its earnings in Germany recorded a 30% increase in the same span of 2017.

Germany first introduced the so-called Interstate Treaty on Gambling back in 2012, hoping to reorganize its market in a style that would enable global operators to supply sports betting services in a regulated environment.

However, the Treaty caused a massive backlash due to the simple fact that it capped the amount of licenses which could be issued to just 20 and didn’t contain provisions for the regulation of online casino games and poker. The piece of legislation has been slammed by the EU Commission, which contended that it failed to follow key principles for the free movement of services.

An amended version of this Treaty was released in 2017. But rather than removing the cap on licenses completely, it only raised it in 20 to 40. And it did not include provisions for the regulation of the online casino and poker businesses.

The Treaty had to be approved with 16 German states so as to take effect. However, lawmakers from the country of Schleswig-Holstein decided last fall to go out of their Treaty, thus dooming its implementation. State leaders also disclosed that they were working on their very own piece of legislation which could, among other things, authorize the provision of online casino games and poker.

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