Support is shown for the anti-minimum distance petition in Baden-Wurttemberg.

Over 5,000 persons are said to have signed a petition in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg demanding for the adoption of more equitable gaming rules.

The state's gaming machine industry, according to a report from G3Newswire, started this petition after local elected officials passed a law requiring all slot parlours and gambling halls to be situated at least 1,640 feet away from any school or educational facility as of June 30. According to the source, this change may force up to 80% of these venues to close, resulting in the loss of up to 8,000 employment.

Serious topic

Licenced casinos and slot machines are said to employ up to 10,000 people in Baden-Wurttemberg, and a petition opposing the minimum distance restriction is about to be delivered to the state legislature in Stuttgart.

Simple argument:

The proliferation of iGaming, which has "long since fundamentally changed the gaming market," according to Georg Stecker, a spokesperson for the Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft eV trade group, makes it "absurd" to pass laws that seek to "regulate gambling halls with a ruler" in the "digital age."

read a statement allegedly from Stecker...

"We need contemporary regulations in place of outdated ones that kill thousands of employment and the entrepreneurial livelihoods of people. Regulations that are based on qualitative standards really improve athlete and youngster protections.

Syncergy of stance:

According to reports, he concurred with this sentiment, and Dirk Fischer from the Automaten-Verband Baden-Wurttemberg eV business group added that the minimum distance requirement "must not become the guillotine of legal games on offer in Baden-Wurttemberg."

Fischer allegedly stated...

"Our businesses and their staff require a stable future. With all due respect, I find it incomprehensible that artificial minimum intervals are forcing thousands of people out of work and forcing good family-run businesses to close when everyone will soon be able to legally play on cellphones.