German Casino Works and Staff Councils Fight to Maintain State Treaty of Gaming

After the Annual Meeting 2010 of the works and staff councils of Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (Ver.di) in the German city of Rostock, Stracke Bernhard of the Federal Coordination casinos wrote about the effect amending the State Treaty on Gaming would have on German gambling laws.

According to Bernhard, Ver.di, one of the biggest autonomous, individual employment unions in the world, demands that the Federal Coordination casinos should continue to be governed as they already are by the Casino Act and the State Treaty on Gaming. Currently, these casinos have the option to offer German poker rooms and traditional casino games such as blackjack and roulette.

Union members called for the preservation of Germany’s gambling monopoly and against online gambling sites in Germany. Moreover, the participants in the seminar affirmed their camaraderie with the workers of the Waren casino, who struggle to conservation the casino and their jobs.

During the meeting, Hajo Köhler, a lawyer from Oldenburg specializing in labor law lectured upon gambling-related case law and the cooperation of laborers. Norbet Warga, Ver.di’s data security officer from Berlin, told a detailed story regarding the Data Protection Act in 2009. Elektronischer Entgeltnachweis (ELENA) an electronic payment processor for gambling sites was also discussed at the meeting.

To complete the event, participants at the seminar accepted an invitation from Rostock casino’s manager to visit the gambling establishment. They were awed by the performance of the live dealers and the slot machines.