Germany.- The German federal gambling regulator, the GGL, has reported that it has received 1,500 tipoffs from the public about online gambling via its reporting portal since it began its regulatory duties at the start of last year. The regulator thanked the public for providing information in an announcement that was made to coincide with Germany’s action day against gambling addiction yesterday.

The GGL said that half of the tipoffs it received were related to illegal online gambling, which regulated operators continue to see as a major problem in the German market. The other half of the tipoffs related to claims of potential irregularities involving licensed operators.

In the same period, the GGL said that it inspected over 1,890 websites and 483 gaming providers and advertisers to check for offers and advertising of illegal gambling. It issued 113 prohibition proceedings, 63 of which led to the provider or advertiser halting their actions.

As for the tipoffs about licensed operators, the GGL said that some of them involved suspected breaches of payout rules, breaches of advertising rules or failures to respect deposit limits.

Ronald Benter 

GGL board member Ronald Benter welcomed the public’s action. He said: “This initiative makes an important contribution to raising awareness of the risks of developing gambling addiction. We have the common goal of preventing gambling and betting addiction.

“The GGL’s job is to ensure that legal providers adhere to the strict rules on player protection and to combat illegal offerings. Information from the public submitted via our whistleblower system plays an important role in this.”

However, the regulator recognises that more needs to be done to tackle the black market, and it hopes for more public involvement. It’s published a guide to provide information to the public about how to use its reporting portal. Benter called on the public to provide as much detail and specific information as possible in their reports. 

“Your information is an important tool for us in the fight against illegal gambling on the internet and in ensuring player protection,” he said.

Gambling advertising in Germany

Earlier this month, Google announced that it would only allow locally licensed gambling operators to promote gambling via its advertising services in Germany. From yesterday (September 25), gambling advertisers must be licensed by the GGL.

The requirement will also apply to affiliates, and Google will no longer allow the advertising of gambling aggregation services that link to offers from different operators. All previous certifications for gambling advertising will be revoked.

Meanwhile, the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein has become the first of Germany’s 16 federal states to allow commercial gaming operators to offer live casino and table games. It’s issued licences to Tipico, BluBet, Cashpoint and SkillOnNet. 

Until now these verticals in online casino in Germany have been restricted to state-run companies. That’s because the gambling reforms of 2021, which introduced regulated online gambling, allowed states the option to allow their lotteries a monopoly over the segments. That contrasts with online slots and poker, which are regulated at the federal level by the GGL.