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Increasing efforts sought in Germany to bolster the regulated market's integrity

Strengthening the Regulated Market is a priority for Germany

Increased efforts sought to fortify the regulated market, as per Germany's demands
Increased efforts sought to fortify the regulated market, as per Germany's demands

Increasing efforts sought in Germany to bolster the regulated market's integrity

Germany is set to pass changes to its gambling laws by December 31, 2026, aiming to rectify the situation after the Gambling Regulator (GGL) was ordered to stop issuing IP blocks in certain cases. The proposed changes aim to strengthen the market's resilience to offshore incursions, boost the regulator's powers, and make regulated operators more attractive.

Under the proposed changes, the GGL would be granted the authority to issue IP blocks to restrict offshore operators' access to German IPs. This measure would require collaboration with intermediary services, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), to enforce the blocking.

However, there is disagreement between the GGL and industry stakeholders regarding the accuracy and methodology of market size and black market quantification. The GGL claims that the combined black market for online casinos, sports betting, poker, and lotteries generates around €500–600 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR). In contrast, industry stakeholders, including Tipico’s director of iGaming, Christian Heins, dispute this figure, arguing that the online casino black market alone could be worth €1.5–2 billion in GGR.

The industry is skeptical about GGL's reported successes in increasing channelization or moving players into the regulated market. This skepticism partly arises from what they perceive as flaws in the regulator's methodology and the lack of transparent, separate quantification for key market segments like online casinos.

The disagreement primarily revolves around how much revenue the regulated market actually captures versus what remains in the black market, and the validity of GGL’s data and approach to estimating these figures.

The proposed changes also include a Second State Treaty to introduce further changes to the 2021 Interstate Treaty on Gambling. The changes are being discussed at the Conference of Interior Ministers.

It's worth noting that about half of all gamblers are said to be playing at offshore companies, according to independent industry research. The proposed changes could potentially impact legitimate businesses, as IP blocks have been heavily criticized.

The issues surrounding the rate of channelization will be discussed at the upcoming Gaming in Germany Conference on November 11, 2025. Matej Novota, Head of Casino Research, has stated that effective IP blocking in Germany will not improve channelization due to consumers preferring offshore casinos over the licensed market.

Closer cooperation with international regulators could potentially improve the GGL's efficiency in licensing new companies and raising red flags on unauthorized operators targeting the local market. The GGL is going to be allowed to collaborate with overseas regulators to assess a brand's or operator's eligibility based on overseas homologues' experience.

The proposed changes are a significant step towards strengthening the regulated German gambling market, but the debate surrounding the accuracy of market size estimates and the effectiveness of IP blocking remains a contentious issue.

  1. The proposed changes in Germany's gambling laws, set to be passed by December 31, 2026, include granting the Gambling Regulator (GGL) the authority to issue IP blocks to restrict access of offshore casinos and sports betting platforms to German IP addresses.
  2. There is ongoing debate within the industry regarding the effectiveness of IP blocking in achieving higher channelization, with Matej Novota, Head of Casino Research, stating that consumers may prefer offshore casinos over the licensed market, rendering IP blocking ineffective in improving the rate of channelization.

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