By Isabel Pancake
More and more legal ATM operators are withdrawing from Berlin! The industry complains that regulation is too strict. For example, alcohol is not allowed to be served in arcades, there must be at least 500 meters between betting and gaming providers – and there must be no physical proximity to daycare centers and schools.
Gauselmann AG has also completely given up its business in the capital. The last of eight branches closed in May; 130 employees were affected by the closures. “It was a gradual process. There were more and more requirements, it was no longer possible to operate our arcades economically,” says spokesman Mario Hoffmeister (56).
The Gauselmann branch on Kudamm was no longer profitable. Stollorcz: “What they did with the regulations in Berlin is unbelievable”
Photo: Ufuk Ucta
The rules for gambling are too strict, especially in the city states. One of the Gauselmann branches was on Kurfürstendamm until two years ago – now it is closed. Hedwig Stollorcz (66) ran the hall for 33 years, she says: “All the new laws came along. No guest could understand that. We lost customers because of it.”
According to the lobby association German ATM Industry, only illegal ATM operators are left behind in Berlin. “The black market doesn’t fall from the sky; “It is produced by significantly reducing the legal supply, as in Berlin,” said spokesman Georg Stecker.
The Berlin police confirmed this in response to a BZ request. When the Minimum Distance Implementation Act was introduced in Berlin in 2016, there were still 497 arcades. In 2021 there will only be 128. The number of illegally set up machines, however, has multiplied in recent years. This year, 210 illegal machines have already been confiscated (2022: 351). The hotspots: Mitte, Neukölln, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.
The police carry out regular group checks like here in Tempelhof-Schöneberg. This year, 210 illegal machines have already been confiscated Photo: Spreepicture
Trade surveillance is now to be reformed in Berlin. Economic Senate spokesman Matthias Kuder: “The aim is also to increase the control pressure on illegal gambling providers and at the same time to secure the legal market.”