Germany’s regulator, Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), hosted a number of DACHL delegates to discuss gambling in the region.

Regulatory representatives from Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein convened on 8-9 October for their annual meeting to exchange best practices in gambling law and legislature.

The event proved to be immensely timely given that Germany is currently undergoing an evaluation of its State Treaty on gambling, which is expected to conclude at the end of next year.

Gambling law did take prevalence in the discussions, with participants cross-referencing various criminal provisions relating to gambling regulation, as well as lootboxes – an oft criticised concept given that it is part of the video game landscape that is mainly targeted at children.

Problem gambling was also on the agenda, with regulators analysing ways in which they can improve their collaboration in light of the recently-introduced unified markers of gambling harm by the European Commission for Standardisation (CEN).

Another widely discussed topic was that of sports betting and player protection across the DACHL region, with many illegal betting cases plaguing the amateur sports scene there, including in Germany.

Delegates agreed that more stringent player identity verifications are potentially the necessary path forward. This, however, could eventually backfire if we look at the case with Germany.

As part of the regulatory overhaul, GGL is planning to implement checks that would assess a player’s income over the previous 12 months. This does not stand good with local trade bodies, as experts believe that the biggest beneficiary of that will be the black market.

On the topic of the black market, Germany is currently in a very bad place in terms of offshore market share. Data shows that channelisation rates are currently at 35%, standing out as some of the worst in Europe.

In comparison, Swedish channelisation rates fall between 80% and 92% depending on the product, and the country’s struggles with achieving its channelisation target of +90% across both betting and casino have now caught political attention.

To address Germany’s channelisation issues, the GGL is considering a new approach towards the practice of IP blocking as it goes into the new year – taking examples from countries like Switzerland who have robust policies in place.

Ronald Benter, CEO of GGL, commented: “Through close cooperation with European regulatory authorities, we can benefit in all areas of activity – from combating illegal gambling and supervising licensed providers to preventing gambling addiction. At the same time, we contribute our experience and successful measures to the European exchange.”