News of the cancelling of the IMA show in Germany in January 2013, released by InterGame yesterday, has been followed by an official press release from the owners of the show, the Verband der Deutschen Automatenindustrie (VDAI), the trade association for manufacturers.

The statement says that the cancellation was for ‘economic reasons caused solely by federal state policies.’ It continues: “The entire German gaming and amusement machine industry has come under increasing political pressure in recent months.” The VDAI blames the 16 German Bundesländer, the individual provinces, for implementing regulations over the past year and now plans to issue a united interstate treaty on the subject on July 1.  Coupled with this, federal gaming arcade laws and massive increases in local amusement tax have in total led to a severe suppression of the German gaming and amusement machine industry, at the same time restricting their economic prospects. “Specifically, the manufacturers represented by the VDAI fear drops in production on an unprecedented scale. At the same time, the German gaming and amusement machine industry fears a further fall of up to 50 per cent of the currently around 70,000 direct and 35,000 indirect jobs.” The association complains that the Bundesländer states want to reduce commercial gaming with prizes in order to secure and expand its gambling monopoly, mostly casinos. “Under the pretext of combating gambling addiction, the federal states are trying by all means to curtail commercial gaming with prizes to the point of threatening its existence.” The statement cites ‘numerous lawsuits’ in the constitutional and administrative courts against the federal arcade gaming laws already in force in Berlin and Bremen, which are pending at the present time. More lawsuits against other states – as well as against the new interstate treaty – are expected. “In the view of VDAI, these various laws contain massive legal violations at a constitutional and European level. The German gaming and amusement machine industry is therefore certain that the interstate treaty, like the preceding laws, will not be tenable. This also applies to the various implementing laws and federal gaming arcade laws.” The VDAI had decided that ‘commercial prudence’ required it to distance itself from participation at a trade fair until there is political and legal clarity.