The European Commission announced on Monday 9 December the opening of an ‘in-depth investigation’ to determine whether the special tax treatment granted to public casino operators in Germany complies with EU State aid rules.
In a separate decision, the Commission also opened an in-depth investigation into specific measures adopted in North Rhine-Westphalia with regard to the public casino operator active in that region.
In Germany, public casino operators (Spielbankunternehmen) are subject to a specific tax regime that replaces a series of general taxes, in particular corporate, income and trade taxes.
The Commission has received several complaints from companies active in the gambling sector in relation to certain aspects of this specific tax regime, as well as an alleged guarantee for public casinos operators to remain profitable. The formal investigation aims at clarifying whether this specific tax regime entails an unjustified economic advantage for the public casinos operators in the form of a lower tax burden in comparison with the normal tax rules.
With respect to certain measures adopted in favour of the public casinos operator active in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Commission will investigate, also based on complaints, whether the operator was granted an undue advantage by North Rhine-Westphalia (annual loss compensation payments as well as a capital injection in 2015). The opening of an in-depth investigation gives Germany and interested third parties the opportunity to submit comments. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.
In parallel, the Commission has concluded that no aid is involved in the alleged direct concession to operate another public casino in North Rhine-Westphalia. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)