GGL calls for extensive virtual game testing to strengthen German market

Germany’s Federal Authority for Gambling (GGL) utilised its presence at last week’s ICE London industry conference to talk about the importance of safeguarding virtual games before they reach the end German consumer.

Representatives from the organisation took the time to reflect on several recent GGL supervisory activities, pinpointing a common problem when it comes to testing individual virtual games of luck. 

According to the regulator, there is currently no “proper test environments” to accompany the organisers’ responsibility of submitting eligible game applications, leading to the first wave of rejections in 2024 and guaranteeing more in the future. 

The GGL further highlighted that it fully expects gambling providers to remain complicit with the State Treaty on Gambling 2021, which is the relevant set of rules that the regulator currently imposes on the German market. 

The legal framework is what sets licensed gambling operators in Germany miles apart from their illegal counterparts, the regulator further asserted. 

Some voices in the industry however have stated the opposite, saying that overly regulated protection measures are driving players towards the unlicensed and offshore operators. 

In November last year, Entain plc who has significant presence in the German market through its online sportsbook Bwin, came out in support of the ‘Schnabl Study’ – a report branding the limits, bans and help offers imposed on German players as “ineffective” due to “half of the online gaming taking place on illegal platforms”. 

Despite this, GGL has remained “optimistic” about the prospects of legal enforcement on German gambling activity moving forward.