GERMANY proposes 13 measures for safe re-opening

 PRESS RELEASE

Die Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft is campaigning for the re-opening of around 9,000 gambling halls in Germany, so it has contacted politicians and authorities to present concrete proposals for strict protection against possible contagion.

Georg Stecker, a spokesman for the board of directors, says: "From the point of view of infection prevention, commercial rooms have the great advantage that the legal regulations to operate gaming halls already include the principle of social distancing."

For example, up to a maximum of twelve gaming machines can be configured in an area of approximately 150 m² per gaming hall. In addition, the minimum distance between individual devices is regulated, as well as the use of screens, which can serve as separation protection in the current situation. Therefore, there is no risk of infection from crowds of people or close contacts.

Die Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft also proposes concrete precautionary measures that can be implemented in the short term and that can increase protection against contagion. These measures include limiting the number of users, the provision of disinfectant or sanitizing products for users, reduction of services and special cleaning of devices.

On the other hand, Georg Stecker expresses with concern: “Since the Coronavirus crisis and the national closure of our commercial rooms, we have noticed a significant increase in the use of illegal online gaming. This is exacerbated by a significant increase in television and online advertising of these illegal offers.”

Stecker also highlights: “The human gaming instinct must be oriented towards legal offers. Therefore, the goal should be to reopen the gaming halls in Germany soon. ” And, he adds, "We also demand that the advertising of illegal online casinos be stopped immediately, because right now, in the coronavirus crisis, it is particularly blatant and irresponsible to advertise illegal gambling without the protection of minors and players."

Re-opening of gaming rooms
The state-licensed gaming halls of the German slot machine industry, along with the 16 state lottery companies and state-owned casinos, play a key role in fulfilling the mandate formulated in the State Gaming Treaty to guide the instinct for natural game of the population towards ordered and monitored channels, in order to counter illegal gaming.

Illegal gaming is very dangerous because it does not have the necessary protection for players and young people. For example, the maximum bet and loss limits set for commercial slot machines do not apply to these game options. Also, there is no social control like in gaming halls.

In order to once again guarantee the orientation of gaming needs in legal offers, we are committed to re-opening gaming halls in Germany, as soon as the gradual return to daily life allows us to do so responsibly and in accordance with the regulations of Relevant health.

The following precautionary measures can be implemented in the short term:

1. Hand disinfection station in the entrance area of the gaming halls. Provision of disinfectants also in other places of the gaming halls so that customers can disinfect their hands.
2. Guarantee a minimum distance of 1.50 m between users. Alternatively, “social distancing” can be made possible with the use of partition walls.
3. Limitation of the number of users (no more users than machines in the gaming halls, maximum 12 in an area of 150 m2)
4. Recommendation of the use of masks, as long as there are enough available on the market
5. Protective separation in the service area (plexiglass panels or sheets suspended on counters to effectively prevent infection from drops and protect users and employees)
6. Sanitary hygiene (soap dispenser in toilets)
7. Additional equipment cleaning (game machines are cleaned after each player change)
8. Recommendation to users to use a voluntary tracking application to make infection chains traceable.
9. Reduced range of services
10. Reduced range of games (games like darts, pool, pinball, etc. are out of order)
11. Cleaning registration (all processes must be registered)
12. Customer information (multilingual notices about distance rules and hygiene rules)
13. Colored barriers or floor marks in front of the service counters, so that the distance between employees and between customers is not less than 1.5 meters.

The vending machine industry wants to ensure that consumers do not migrate to illegal offers without the protection of minors and players. The most sustainable protection is to reopen legal offers in commercial rooms as soon as possible. We are ready to carry out our re-opening with the highest infection protection for users and employees.

It is also essential to consider that by re-opening our operations, we will contribute to normalizing the daily life not only of our users but also of our more than 70,000 direct employees and another 35,000 indirect employees.

REPORT ON THE MEASURES PROPOSED BY THE GERMAN GAMING SECTOR (PDF IN GERMAN)