Tipico launches ‘Trusted Partner’ scheme against the Black Market

Tipico, Germany’s largest online gambling group, has launched a ‘Trusted Partner Programme’ to ensure that its game suppliers have no involvement with the black market.

The scheme is designed to support Tipico Games as the leading virtual slots brand in Germany, upholding the rules of the Fourth Interstate Gambling Treaty of 2021 (GlüStV).

As cited by Tipico: “The aim of the Trusted Partner Programme is to support game manufacturers who voluntarily commit to not supplying anyone operating illegal gambling websites in Germany.

“Such black-market offerings bypass German regulatory requirements, provide no reliable player protection, and evade taxes owed in Germany.”

As such, Tipico will verify that all game suppliers are aligned with its Trusted Partner commitment, which ensures that games available in the German market are exclusively licensed to GlüStV operators.

The programme is launched as concerns grow regarding the GlüStV market’s exposure to black market activities, dividing opinion among the regulatory authority of the Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), Bundesländer, academics, and German operators.

GGL, the federal gambling authority, believes that in 2023, illegal gambling accounted for approximately 3% to 4% of the total market, generating between €400m and €600m in gross gaming revenue (GGR). This is in contrast to the legal market’s €13.7 billion GGR for the same period.

Contrasting the GGL’s figures, a 2023 study by the University of Leipzig suggested that around 48.8% of German players engaged with offshore, unlicensed gambling sites. This study estimated that up to three-quarters of online gambling revenue was generated outside the regulated market.

Tipico states that its programme is launched in good faith to improve gambling safeguards in Germany. Christian Heins, Director of iGaming at Tipico, says: “We are very pleased that several major game manufacturers have already fulfilled the requirements as ‘Trusted Partners’ at the start of our quality initiative. Combating illegal offerings is essential for the successful channelisation into the legal and safe market, and we are convinced that this goal can only be achieved in the long term through a joint effort by all stakeholders.”

Game manufacturers who are already part of the ‘Trusted Partner’ quality initiative at launch are: Apparat, Games Global, Greentube, Hölle Games, MERKUR, Play’n GO, SYNOT, ZEAL.