Schleswig-Holstein will be the first state in Germany to liberalize its Gaming Law. This is an important development. The German market is very complex because of the fact that every field of gaming has its own regulator. The opening of Schleswig-Holstein is expected to be the start of liberalization in all states of Germany.

As a European testing laboratory, NMi is working to be recognized as an ATF for Schleswig-Holstein, Operators and Software Providers are keen on entering this market and along with NMi are eagerly awaiting the release of the technical specifications.

Norderstedt Conference

On Monday 16 January 2012, NMi attended the, Norderstedt Conference:  “Online-Glücksspiel in Schleswig Holstein”.

A presentation was given about the new Law of 20 October 2011 and a panel, consisting of the key people involved, met to discuss the current state of affairs as well as explained to the potential operators present  how to obtain a license in Schleswig-Holstein.

Ben Verhoeff, NMi’s dedicated Market Development Manager, commented “As a testament to our dedication to new regulated jurisdictions in Europe and beyond, NMi will be one of the first labs in the queue to be accredited and to help you to get this license”.

IMA

In January, NMi also attended the IMA exhibition (international trade fair for amusement and vending machines) in Dusseldorf, Germany. This exhibition mainly focuses on the local AWP and Casino markets. It was a busy exhibition, and similar to other countries, it shows that also in Germany technical matters dominate and outruns the established principles. Even if online and server-based gaming are still not legalized in Germany, it is slowly but surely getting more exposure.

Responsible gaming

At the Nordstedt conference and the IMA exhibition, a lot of attention was paid to responsible gaming. Liberalization of the market implies that different parties are getting involved and responsible gaming needs extra attention. NMi, together with its partner G4, offers specific testing for responsible gaming. Making NMi the turnkey provider for the complete certification both on technical and player protection requirements which is the beginning of a complete new way of certification, fit for the future.