The latest figures from the German market show a further sharp decline in the number of gaming machines in operation.
In 2024 there were just over 115,000 in operation across the country, divided as 89,418 in arcades and 25,617 in pubs.
This is down from the 2022 total of over 136,000 (104,779 in arcades and 32,604 in pubs) and from the 2020 figures totalling over 178,000 (134,134 and 44,603 respectively).
The downturn has at its roots the ‘spieleverordnung’ or inter-state treaty on gambling agreed between the 16 German federal states which has culled the number of arcade licenses and therefore the machine totals and reduced the permitted number of payout machines in pubs.
A new inter-state treaty was supposed to come into effect this year or next year, but now the industry does not expect it until 2027.
Meanwhile, illegal machines flourish in German arcades, reckoned to be as many as 50,000, mostly located in ‘coffee shops.'
