A test case has opened in Leipzig, Germany, which could do much to decide how many - if any - of Germany’s current 9,500 arcades will be forced to close under the Inter-State Treaty between the 16 Bundesländer or provinces.
The High Court will decide whether the first imposition of the Treaty - in Berlin - this year was legal. The Treaty is due to come into force across the rest of the country progressively in 2017 and 2018 and could close down as much as 30 per cent of the country’s 267,000 AWP machines.
The application of the Treaty could be patchy, depending upon how strongly local communities feel about arcades, but the Treaty demands among other restrictions, single licences at least 500m apart, no proximity to schools and other named locations and restricted open hours.
The Treaty’s restrictions are being fought vigorously by the trade associations and a number of cases are in the pipeline, including a reference to the European Court. However, the case in Leipzig is seen as an indicator of the likely outcome across the industry.
