Central Europe

The long-awaited opening of the German market has arrived

Published

4 years ago

June 30, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Catalin Negoita, Commercial Manager at Kalamba Games

The long-awaited German legislation allowing online gaming nationwide finally enters into force this week. Even before fully opening up, the market has become a key focus for many industry players, with a multitude of factors making the potential of the region an attractive proposition.

Firstly, there is the sheer size of the country itself. With a population second only to Russia in Europe and relatively high average earnings, the potential value of the player pool is vast. The second reason is perhaps more subjective, but we have found that German players are fairly easy to satisfy. Their preferences are well established, which makes it straightforward for an online casino supplier to adequately cater for this sizeable new clientele.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

Because of the country’s strong history of land-based gambling, classic games that resemble titles found in brick-and-mortar venues with popular themes like ancient Egypt and book games work very well with local players. Taking inspiration from what works in the land-based sector is therefore often a safe bet in Germany. Mobile usage is also a lot higher than your average market because of the good infrastructure so it’s worth considering creating games that are optimised for mobile.

Strict rules and regulations around responsible gaming and player protection have already presented some challenges for the industry with slot suppliers required to make fundamental changes to the makeup of their content.

Operators must adopt a €1 maximum stake limit on online slots, alongside a 5-second minimum duration on slot spins. Jackpots will be banned, removing an important acquisition and retention tool for operators. Monthly deposit limits of €1,000 will also be introduced and players must be offered tools to set spending and time limits, along with cooling-off periods.

These restrictions will influence the shape of the market with the main effect being that retention will have a greater focus than in many other markets with fewer restrictions.

Despite being a hot topic in the industry for quite some time, providers will now be trying even harder to retain more players for longer and will have to be creative in order to succeed. Legislative changes are part of every regulated market and it is key for operators and suppliers to embrace them and try to adapt as best we can. We are known to be a very innovative industry and I’m sure as the market matures, we will see pioneering new ways to acquire and retain players while ensuring maximum player protection.

Basically gamification, customer service and the quality of games in general will be the differentiator in the German market, and that is for both providers and operators to address.

Gambling will become more of a social thing because the maximum limit is so low. It’s not exactly going to be the thrill of winning big – it will be the social aspect and making sure that retention factors, gamification side missions and different functionalities are top notch.

You could say a laser-like focus on promotional tools and social gaming elements, such as those that we are introducing on our own Kalamba Bullseye platform, are going to be very important. Basically, everything that enhances the player experience will be key such as promotional tools, UX elements, and/or in-game gamification features. Similarly, game production values will have to be high and match those of other entertainment media.

At Kalamba, we believe that Germany will be a very strong market. The way to monetise the market will just be a little bit different there. There won’t be VIP players, so the industry will have to adjust to a volume model. Player values will decrease but because of the social acceptance of gaming, and slots in particular, the player numbers will increase and that’s how it will balance itself out over time.

Initially, when the legislation comes into force, we will just have to analyse the player behaviour and see in what direction the market is going and how we can fully capitalise on this new opportunity. Germany will be a market that could completely change with providers having to adapt to the new conditions as there will be a lot of new players entering the market now that it’s completely regulated.

We must work very closely with our partners to figure out the best way to make the player experience as engaging as possible and this will lead us to success in this new and exciting environment.

Central Europe

Brightstar Lottery Upgrades Retail Central System for Lotto Saxony in Germany via New Seven-Year Contract

Published

3 weeks ago

August 11, 2025

Niji Narayan

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

Brightstar Lottery PLC announced that it will deploy its comprehensive retail central system technology, Aurora, along with advanced cloud-based software for Sächsische Lotto-GmbH (Lotto Saxony) in the State of Saxony, Germany via a seven-year contract. The contract was awarded to Brightstar following a competitive public procurement.

“The quality and reliability of Brightstar’s world-class lottery technology and operational support, along with its team’s knowledge of Lotto Saxony’s business needs are some of the reasons why we have partnered with the Company for 30 years. We look forward to upgrading our central system to Brightstar’s sophisticated platform and the many benefits its components will produce,” said Herr Frank Schwarz, Lotto Saxony Chief Executive Officer.

“This new seven-year contract marks an exciting chapter for Brightstar and Lotto Saxony as we work together to modernize lottery solutions throughout the state. Brightstar’s high-performing central system and peripherals will enable Lotto Saxony to manage its business more efficiently with the confidence in knowing the technology is secure, dependable, and responsible,” said Marco Tasso, Brightstar Chief Operating Officer International and Italy Operations.

An integral part of OMNIA, Brightstar’s player-centric, omnichannel solution for lotteries, Aurora helps drive lottery innovation and profitability. The platform will provide intuitive, user-friendly applications, tools and reporting capabilities to handle Lotto Saxony’s transaction processing, game management and back-office operations. Lotto Saxony will receive key cloud-based Aurora products including, Anywhere, to securely connect external applications to the retail system, and Performance Wizard, to deliver targeted insights and analytics.

The post Brightstar Lottery Upgrades Retail Central System for Lotto Saxony in Germany via New Seven-Year Contract appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Central Europe

Interwetten becomes team partner of SK Rapid

Published

3 weeks ago

August 7, 2025

George Miller

interwetten-becomes-team-partner-of-sk-rapid

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Yellow and black meets green and white! Interwetten becomes SK Rapid’s new team partner. The online sports betting pioneer and Austria’s most popular football club are starting the new season together. The combination with Rapid coach Peter Stöger, who has been an Interwetten expert for many years and will also remain on the sidelines, makes the partnership a real success.

With more than 24,000 club members and over 220 official fan clubs, the Austrian record champions boast the largest fan base in the country! And with the Allianz Stadium in Vienna’s West Hütteldorf, the Green-Whites boast a modern home! Interwetten is expanding its extensive football commitment to include a traditional club and will now be present at SK Rapid’s home games on a ball display or 3D carpet in the stadium, as well as on the Hütteldorf club’s digital channels.

“We are very pleased about the new team partnership with SK Rapid. The connection to a club with great charisma and passion is a perfect fit for Interwetten. And the best part: With our long-time expert Peter Stöger, we already have Rapid’s coach on board ,” explains Interwetten Marketing Director Dieter Grück , who promises fans a comprehensive experience in addition to betting.

Grück adds : “We are planning various digital activations throughout the season that will offer our customers and Rapid fans unique experiences. This will certainly include exclusive promotions with Peter Stöger. With this, we want to underline our connection with Austrian football.”

SK Rapid Managing Director Steffen Hofmann warmly welcomes the sports betting provider to the green and white partner family. “This partnership is a strong signal and demonstrates the trust placed in our club. Together, we are planning innovative activations and are convinced that the collaboration will be very successful. I am delighted that Interwetten is now part of the large green and white partner family.”

The post Interwetten becomes team partner of SK Rapid appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Central Europe

Scientific Games and Polish National Lottery Continue 20-Year Scratchcard Tradition as Sales Grow

Published

1 month ago

July 24, 2025

George Miller

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

Scientific Games will continue to bring exciting instant scratchcard games to Polish National Lottery players through a new agreement with Totalizator Sportowy. Celebrating the instant lottery’s 25th anniversary last year, Totalizator Sportowy is among the top five performing instant game lotteries in Europe (La Fleur’s 2025 World Lottery Almanac). The world’s largest lottery games company has provided scratchcards to Totalizator Sportowy for more than 20 years, with scratchcard game sales in Poland growing by 20% over the past three years (2022 to 2025).

“Our goal is to give our players entertaining scratchcard experiences while responsibly generating maximum proceeds for Polish sport and culture. We are delighted to continue working with Scientific Games to offer fun, modern scratch experiences,” said Katarzyna Woznica-Borkowska, Manager of Instant Products for Totalizator Sportowy.

Most recently, Scientific Games collaborated with Totalizator Sportowy to offer Polish players the PLN30 GIGA 7 game produced with the company’s advanced Dimension technology, which enhances the play experience with three-dimensional, reflection-at-different-angle refractions above and below the game graphics.

Currently, the company provides instant games to 110 government-regulated lotteries worldwide, including more than 50 European lotteries.

“Scientific Games is honored to continue our longtime relationship with Totalizator Sportowy that we have built across two decades,” said Paul Dures, Lottery Sales Director EMEA for Scientific Games. “We look forward to continuing our work to drive meaningful growth for the scratchcard games in Poland creating more innovative and attractive games for players.”

With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world (La Fleur’s 2025 World Lottery Almanac).

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