State-run online casino takes stock

Just over a year ago we told you about the opening of the first state-owned online casino. Now the Saxon casino company Spielbanken-GmbH & Co. KG has drawn its first interim conclusions. Those responsible for "die-spielbank.de" are largely satisfied with the development in the first year. But is the state-owned online casino already in the black or is the project still a loss-making venture?

Players can currently choose from around 350 virtual slot games at die-spielbank.de. These include well-known hits such as Book of Ra, Eye of Horus and Lucky Lady's Charm. When we reported on the opening of the first state-run online casino in January 2023, the platform had six employees. Since then, "die-spielbank.de" has firmly established itself in the legal online gambling market in Germany.

"die-spielbank.de" still in the red

Casino manager Frank Schwarz told the German Press Agency that the online casino has got off to a good start. However, the revenues are not yet sufficient to cover the high investments. For this reason, "die-spielbank.de" is still a loss-making business for the Saxon casino company Spielbanken-GmbH & Co. KG.

The casino's director also stresses that the profits made belong to the state. Part of the profits is also donated to the community, including Dresden Castle and the regional sports association. Part of the revenue is also used to finance the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA). Back in May 2022, in an article published on GambleJoe, we asked ourselves how the BZgA hotline could be financed in the future.

What's next for the first state-owned online casino?

Players can currently find around 350 virtual slot games from established providers at "die-spielbank.de". These include Merkur Gaming, Pragmatic Play, Greentube and Play'n GO. According to current plans, the games portfolio will be expanded over the next few months so that around 500 games will be available by the summer. It is unclear whether there are still only six employees working for the platform, as was the case when it was launched last year.

On its online presence, "die-spielbank.de" advertises with the slogan:

"DIE SPIELBANK is the first state-owned provider of virtual slot machines in Germany".

And what about the competition?

Of course, neither the legal nor the illegal competition is resting on its laurels. There are currently around 40 other providers of virtual slot machines in Germany that have a German licence from the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) and are therefore legal. In addition, there are hundreds of illegal online casinos without a German licence. Earlier this month we asked ourselves why German players are playing in unlicensed online casinos.

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Conclusion

One year after its opening, the first state-owned online casino has taken stock and is quite satisfied with its development. The management is therefore confident that "die-spielbank.de" will be in the black in the near future. In terms of bonuses, however, the state-run online casino is still relatively poorly positioned, so "bonus hunters" should definitely take a look at our latest online casino comparison!

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