Black Market Remains Issue for Gambling Operations in Germany

The German Gambling Regulator (GGL) has outlined its end-of-year results, touting its achievements during the year, and arguing that a lot of headway has been gained in crucial areas such as bans, blocking, fines, geolocation blocks, and working with big tech giants to ensure that gambling laws in the country are enforced and strictly followed.

Germany’s Regulator Reflects on a Full Year in 2024

In its end-of-the-year address, however, the GGL commented on the multiple challenges that remained to be addressed and the work that lay ahead of the regulator. For one, the GGL would attempt to develop better international trends, as many regulators are now looking to strengthen their understanding of illegal operators and are willing to cooperate with foreign homologues on the issue.

At the same time, some of the problems that the regulators face require an inward look. The biggest fear is that despite the regulated market’s status, much of the channelization is still claimed by illegal operators. Although the GGL has not acknowledged some of the stiffest criticisms against it, it has noted that the black market is indeed something to continue working on into the new year.

To help get a better foothold in the issue, the GGL has said that it is awaiting the results of a new study that it had commissioned in the hopes of getting more concrete data of what the actual channelization rates in the country are and if they are not as good as expected, why this is the case.

More Data Will Help the GGL Regulate Gambling Better

Commenting on the present results, and the new discussions surrounding Germany’s State Treaty on Gambling 2021, GGL board member Ronald Benter said that the regulator remained committed to improving the existing regulatory framework. A translated statement read:

“We are committed to a fact-based discussion and have already commissioned studies on player protection, advertising and channeling, the results of which will be incorporated into the evaluation process.”

Germany remains one of Europe’s most contentious markets, as the GGL is exercising strong oversight on the market. Industry types have raised multiple issues with this, arguing that the regulator has been underreporting the size of the issue, but the watchdog is now keen to ensure that its data presented to the public is accurate and informs future decision-making processes.