Mega Don

What is Mega Don?

Andreas Braun, owner of four arcades in Wiesbaden, filed an objection and constitutional complaint against the tax rate in April last year according to local reporting. He argued that the tax rise had provided a ‘strangling’ effect to business and that it consumed operator profits.

According to a high court ruling from over a decade ago, the tax rise cannot be allowed to rise to the point of ‘consuming livelihoods’. 

“If the tax burden alone makes it impossible to establish the occupation of slot machine operators as the economic basis of one’s livelihood within the municipality,” the ruling said. 

What is Mega Don?

On Monday, the AiA announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Association of Nigerian Bookmakers to establish closer ties on matters both in Nigeria and across Africa.

The MoU will explore opportunities for collaboration on areas such as safer gambling, player protection and taxation.

It’s the second MoU the AiA has signed in the last three weeks, having established a framework for closer cooperation with the Association of Gaming Operators of Kenya in late August.

What is Mega Don?

It is important to stress that the Commission has not published detailed findings or established that breaches occurred. Customers can still access their accounts and withdraw funds. Following the closures the sites still provided messaging about the suspended licences.

Even so, suspension is an unusually forceful intervention.

“In my experience, where compliance concerns can be satisfactorily addressed without suspending an operator’s licence, the Commission may allow the operator to implement remedial measures or an action plan while continuing to trade,” says Richard Williams, partner at Keystone Law, speaking before the news of the collapse of the businesses.