Germany names the third state to allow virtual table games
Lawmakers in Stuttgart have approved a new regulation for online casino games, making Baden-Württemberg the third state in Germany after Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein to...
Germany’s DSWV denies secret deal in gambling settlement
Germany’s sports betting trade body, DSWV, has responded to claims that a court settlement between the country’s gambling regulator GGL, and online operators was a “secret agreement.”
The controversy comes from a 2022 settlement, where the Darmstadt Administrative Court approved a clause allowing Schufa, a German credit reference agency that collects and maintains information about individuals’ financial behavior to be used to check whether players can afford to gamble.
WDR, a German public broadcaster, raised concerns about Schufa’s transparency, claiming that it could still be used to adjust players’ deposit limits.
However, the DSWV dismissed these accusations, stating:
“The accusation is unfounded. It is true that there is no secret agreement. The responsible gambling supervisory authority and the sports betting providers have reached and recorded a settlement in public proceedings before the Darmstadt Administrative Court in accordance with the rule of law. The federal states have also published the contents of the settlement in their interim report on the evaluation of the Interstate Gambling Treaty. The report has been available on the website of the Conference of Interior Ministers and several state parliaments since June 2024.”
At the same time, the association acknowledged that improvement can still be made. In August 2024, the DSWV proposed to the federal states that deposit limits should be lowered, and Schufa checks should be conducted more frequently to better monitor players’ behavior and keep them away from the risks of debt.
Illegal gambling keeps dominating the German gambling market
Despite key achievements such as bans on unauthorized operators, imposed fines, geolocation blocks, and significant partnerships, the German Gambling Regulator (GGL) still...
