German sports betting welcomes coalition deal against illegal gambling

The new German government’s announcement to take more decisive action against illegal gambling has been backed by The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV).

The DSWV has submitted concrete proposals for action on how enforcement can be improved together with the federal states. The trade body has emphasised a need r to “turn good intentions into effective policy”.

At the heart of the proposals are a strengthening of legal providers in competition with illegal ones, which is said to be the most effective weapon against a mushrooming black market.

It must offer sufficiently attractive products for interested customers and can therefore hold its own against the illegal market. 

DSWV explained: “This does not mean that regulatory elements must be dispensed with, as state licenses and the ability to advertise with them are a value in themselves. However, the attractiveness of the legal products must not lag so far behind the illegal ones, as is currently the case.”

Furthermore, another issue described as essential is the need to establish a nationwide specialised public prosecutor’s office – a central investigative authority with specific responsibility for illegal gambling – especially on the internet.

“Many proceedings currently fail due to a lack of jurisdiction or the international dimension of the providers,” DSWV explained. “Such a public prosecutor’s office could specifically investigate providers from abroad and ensure more effective prosecution.”

Long-running calls for black market clampdown

Meanwhile, the association also highlighted that platforms need to be held more accountable, asserting that advertising platforms and affiliate networks contribute significantly to the visibility of illegal providers. 

The Digital Services Act (DSA) offers new opportunities to hold platform operators accountable. “Illegal content must be actively identified and removed,” DSWV added. 

The final proposal looked at harmonising European regulation, with the patchwork of national gambling regulations making it difficult to enforce the law. DSWV emphasised that Germany should advocate uniform standards at EU level to enable cross-border enforcement.

The association’s statement and the government’s plans come shortly after Germany’s gambling regulator, the GGL, called for more powers to protect customers against black market operations.

“As an enforcement authority, we address every form of unauthorised advertising. We are thus ensuring that all permitted providers can and must operate under the same framework,” said Ronald Benter, Chairman of the GGL.

Regulators and other market stakeholders are also increasingly concerned with how Germans are able to bet and gamble via companies which hold licences in other markets but not in Germany.

In November last year DSWV hit back after a documentary suggested Germans were able to bet on amateur football matches with licensed operators in other EU countries.

This was after broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk released its documentary entitled “Attack on amateur soccer – the greed of betting providers”, which DSWV slammed as misleading.

This debate has recently been raised at the EU legal level after Malta adopted legislation protecting companies licensed with its Gambling Authority (the MGA) from being the subject of enforcement actions in other countries. The GGL argues that this violates EU legal frameworks.