The King

About The King

Andreas Braun, owner of four arcades in Wiesbaden, filed an objection and constitutional complaint against the tax rate in April last year according to local reporting. He argued that the tax rise had provided a ‘strangling’ effect to business and that it consumed operator profits.

According to a high court ruling from over a decade ago, the tax rise cannot be allowed to rise to the point of ‘consuming livelihoods’. 

“If the tax burden alone makes it impossible to establish the occupation of slot machine operators as the economic basis of one’s livelihood within the municipality,” the ruling said. 

How to play The King

Almost six in 10 (57%) of the sports betting demographic said they bet weekly, with 17% betting on a daily basis. Nearly one in five (19%) said they have outstanding sports betting debts.

Frequent bettors are significantly more likely to report that their betting habits are impacting other corners of their financial lives. Of those who bet daily on sports, 40% say they have debts that they attribute to wagers they made,” the report said.

“Nearly half of all respondents (45%) say they’ve borrowed money to place sports bets, with 13% taking out a personal loan to bankroll their betting and 11% securing funds through a high-interest payday loan,” the report continued.

How to play The King

In a press release on Friday, Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain urged the government to “close the loophole without delay” in response to a Department for Culture, Media and Sport consultation on the matter.

The second consultation, which ran from 15 July to 9 September, followed an initial review in February.

But Entain warned the current timeline, which would enforce the ban by August 2027, was not timely enough, allowing unlicensed operators to sponsor Premier League clubs for another full season.