German gambling regulator promises tougher action against streamers

The Higher Administrative Court has backed the regulator’s stance against streamers based outside of the country.

Germany.- The Higher Administrative Court in Saxony-Anhalt has backed the German gambling regulator GGL’s call for powers to act against streamers based abroad. The regulator has lodged a legal challenge related to a German streamer who was promoting unlicensed online slot games from outside of the country.

The court found that the GGL was right to intervene under the principle of territoriality in international law because “the content created in German is aimed at a German-speaking area. It is therefore mainly addressed to viewers who access the streaming content from Germany.”

The GGL had raised concerns about the risk to minors and player protection since streaming is often viewed by younger audiences. Board member Ronald Benter said: “This decision has a signal effect. In the future, the GGL will take even tougher action against streamers based abroad.”

Unlicensed gambling in Germany

Earlier this week, the German online casino trade association Deutscher Online Casinoverband (DOCV) called for a more urgent review of gambling regulation to address black-market gambling. It warned that the country’s unlicensed gambling market is bigger than what the federal gambling regulator GGL claims.

The GGL’s last report in June suggests that the illegal market was worth €600m and represents only 4 per cent of German gambling. However, the DOCV believes the true size of the unregulated sector has been misrepresented through comparison to the whole market across all channels.

The DOCV notes that a University of Leipzig study that it commissioned with Deutscher Sportwettenverband (DSWV) found that 50.7 per cent of players gambled in the regulated online sector, compared to 49.3 per cent via unlicensed EU providers or offshore sites. It is preparing to release figures on channelisation rates in the market next month based on data from Entain and audience data specialist Nielsen.

The GGL has announced a comprehensive market evaluation. However, it’s not scheduled for completion until 2026, and past experience suggests this date could well be pushed back. The regulator has said the main focus will be on analysing the role of the regulated market in society, with a particular focus on the impact of advertising.