GGL: Fight Against Illegal Gambling Remains Challenging

German Gambling Authority (GGL) Releases 2024 Activity Report, Highlighting Key Achievements and Challenges

The Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), Germany’s joint gaming authority, has published its 2024 activity report, reflecting on the past year’s central developments and successes. The report details the authority’s approach to combating illegal gambling and its oversight activities concerning legal gambling providers. A key component of the report is the analysis of the German gambling market’s development.

Increased Monitoring Due to Major Events

In the past year, the GGL processed 230 license and amendment applications and supervised 141 providers. The GGL faced numerous regulatory, legal, and supervisory challenges. Major events such as the UEFA European Football Championship and the Olympic Games led to increased advertising and betting activities, necessitating enhanced monitoring.

“Markers of Harm” as Assessment Criteria

A significant milestone in 2024 was the judicial confirmation of the “Markers of Harm” developed by the GGL. These indicators were created for checks on increased deposit limits and were used for the first time in 2024. They serve to identify problematic gambling behavior early on. Their legal admissibility was confirmed by the Mainz Administrative Court. The GGL sees this as an important step towards uniform player protection standards.

Illegal Online Gambling at Approximately 25 Percent

In 2024, the GGL successfully combated illegal offerings, making numerous illegal providers inaccessible to players in Germany. A total of 231 prohibition proceedings were initiated, and over 1,700 websites were reviewed. Approximately 450 illegal gambling sites were no longer accessible from Germany due to prohibition orders, and another 657 were blocked via geo-blocking based on the Digital Services Act (DSA). Payment blocking made deposits and withdrawals for illegal offerings more difficult.

Another success was the adjustment of Google’s advertising policies on the GGL’s initiative. Since September 2024, only licensed providers in Germany have been allowed to advertise via Google Ads. This has significantly reduced the visibility of illegal offerings.

“Our measures are effective. Nevertheless, combating illegal offerings remains challenging and requires perseverance and close cooperation with national and international partners,” says Ronald Benter, CEO of the GGL.

The GGL estimates that the market share of illegal online gambling in the entire online gambling market is around 25 percent.

Development of the Gambling Market

The legal German gambling market (online and land-based) generated a gross gaming revenue (corresponding to players’ losses) of approximately 14.4 billion euros in 2024 – an increase of around 5 percent compared to the previous year. Tax and levy revenues from gambling amounted to approximately 7 billion euros. The providers regulated by the GGL generated approximately 4 billion euros, corresponding to a share of 28 percent of the total permitted market.

In the illegal market, the authority registered 858 German-language gambling sites from 212 unlicensed operators. It assumes that the illegal German-language websites it has identified account for a market volume of between 500 and 600 million euros. This corresponds to around 3 to 4 percent of the total permitted market (land-based and online) and around 25 percent of the permitted market for high-risk online gambling, such as virtual slot games or sports betting.

Outlook for the Coming Year

For 2025, the GGL expects further “groundbreaking” court rulings on its measures, providing even more legal certainty in its approach. The authority will continue to monitor the evaluation of the State Treaty on Gambling 2021. Advertising monitoring will also be further expanded. The further development of the use of safe servers is intended to further improve the supervision of the legal gambling market and enable more precise monitoring. A particular focus is on intensive cooperation with national and international authorities to further curb the illegal gambling market effectively. According to the announcement, not only the providers themselves are being targeted, but also technical service providers, advertising partners, and other supporting actors.

Ronald Benter: “Our stated goal is to make the business model of illegal providers unattractive through a comprehensive package of measures. Combating illegal offerings remains a long-term process that requires strategic action, determined action, and close inter-agency cooperation.”