Secret Deal Undermines Online Gambling Protection in Germany
A clandestine agreement between German states and online gambling providers is weakening legal safeguards designed to protect players, according to a new investigation. Experts are expressing serious concerns.
The investigation reveals that a previously undisclosed deal allows online gambling companies to bypass crucial player protection measures, potentially putting vulnerable individuals at risk.
Germany faces a significant challenge with gambling addiction. An estimated 1.3 million people are considered gambling addicts, and another 3.2 million are at risk. Online gambling, including sports betting, is a growing concern, with platform revenues doubling across Europe since 2018. A recent report in “The Lancet” medical journal warned of a “rapidly growing problem for public health.”
In Germany, the individual states are responsible for regulating gambling, with oversight delegated to the “Joint Gambling Authority of the States” (GGL). The legal framework is defined by the Interstate Treaty on Gambling, which aims to prevent gambling addiction and create effective addiction control measures.
€1,000 Deposit Limit Circumvented
A key legal requirement stipulates that customers should be limited to depositing a maximum of €1,000 per month across all online casinos and betting providers. While gambling researcher Tobias Hayer considers this limit “already too high,” players can still deposit significantly more. In such cases, providers are required to verify the “economic capacity” of their customers to ensure they are not gambling themselves into financial ruin. Guidelines suggest using “income tax assessments or other proof of income and bank statements.”
However, the investigation reveals that state interior ministers effectively nullified this crucial player protection measure in November 2022. This occurred through a secret agreement reached in a court settlement with sports betting providers who had challenged player protection regulations.
Protection Measures Bypassed
This agreement, now widely applied across Germany, allows providers to accept a “Schufa-G” credit check as proof of financial capacity. This check, specifically developed for the gambling industry, does not accurately reflect a player’s income or actual assets. The investigation team demonstrated that even a student with a monthly income of around €1,000 could increase their deposit limit to €10,000 per month.
Tobias Hayer warns that this loophole could quickly lead vulnerable individuals to financial ruin: “It is likely that particularly addiction-prone individuals will try to make use of this limit increase. Apparently, in the present comparison, the economic interests of the gambling providers have once again prevailed at the expense of player protection.”
Burkhard Blienert, the Federal Government’s Commissioner for Addiction and Drugs, expressed his outrage that the strict gambling rules enacted by the states were “secretly repealed afterwards.” He stated that providers are being given “a free pass to make even more profit at the expense of health and, in the end, the general public.”
“Strong Evidence Suggests It’s Illegal”
Constitutional law expert Christoph Degenhart suggests a constitutional review of the process: “There is much to suggest that this is illegal,” he said.
Most state governments refer to the responsibility of the Joint Gambling Authority of the States, which is currently examining whether the Schufa-G practice complies with player protection requirements. They claim the court settlement with the providers was necessary to “clarify contentious legal issues.”
However, the states have not addressed the question of whether and why the agreement undermines legally mandated player protection. An exception is Bremen’s Senator of the Interior, Ulrich Mäurer (SPD), who believes that “the approval of Schufa-G contradicts the objectives of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling to prevent the emergence of gambling addiction.” He argues that the use of the Schufa-G check should be “prohibited to gambling providers without delay.”
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