The German gambling authority, Gemeinsamen Glucksspielbehorde der Lander has reported that the illegal gambling revenues could be as high as four percent of Germany’s GGR total in 2023.
The GGL published figures for gambling in Ireland last year and confirmed the illegal revenue, defined by the GGL as losses to players. This figure ranged between EUR400m to EUR600m.
These figures indicate that the black market is still prevalent in this country. They are equivalent to about four percent of the GGR for the entire market, which was EUR13.7bn in total.
Online gambling generated EUR3bn per segment. This is 21.9 percent of total GGR. Sports betting online accounted for EUR1.8bn. Online poker and slots contributed EUR400m.
In total, 1,864 sites were inspected by the regulator. Of these, 133 websites had been blocked – 46 websites that offered black market advertisements and 87 websites offering illegal gambling.
The report shows that in total the GGL handled 438 suspected cases of illegal advertising or gambling during the past year. As a direct result of the hearings and prohibition orders issued by regulators, 63 black-market operators have ceased their illegal operations.
The GGL responded to the fact that several sites continue to operate despite the prohibition order. “Those who don’t discontinue their service despite the prohibition order are usually based outside of the EU.”
The regulator imposed two fines totaling EUR50,000 to stop illegal advertising and gambling. Due to the regulatory actions taken by GGL in 2023, the GGL was involved in 117 lawsuits filed by different operators.
Gunther Shnabl of University of Leipzig carried out a survey at the end of 2012 that revealed only 50,7% of Germans gambled with licensed operators.
The market analysis, which analyzed data from around 25,000 Germans to track visits and engagements in over 700 gambling domains revealed that 28,9% of German gamblers used unlicensed EU brands while 19,9% were offshore.
The German regulator commented also on the state of licensing in Germany, stating that the suppliers need to have more input in order to prevent further delays for game certification.
Ronald Benter, a board member at the company’s headquarters in New York City, said: “We constantly look for ways to optimize administrative processes.”
One way to accelerate the process is to involve directly the developers and game producers in the process of submitting applications for approval. This would accelerate the approval process.
