GGL calls for direct powers to prosecute illegal gambling threats in Germany

Germany’s federal gambling authority wants faster enforcement tools against illegal online operators. The point is straightforward: if the black market can adapt in weeks and the state can only move after months of federal-state negotiation, licensed operators end up competing with one hand tied behind their back.

1. Gluecksspiel Behoerde (GGL) Co-President Ronald Benter said the current Germany Interstate Gambling Regime (GlüStV 2021) does not give the authority enough direct enforcement powers to deal with illegal gambling threats quickly. He told Mitteldeutsche Zeitung that the framework “cannot respond quickly enough to developments within the illegal online market”.
2. Benter’s main complaint is structural: many provisions in the state treaty are so detailed that changing them requires lengthy negotiations involving Germany’s 16 federal states. He said that even when the GGL and the states agree on a change, revising the legislation can take several years, which leaves the authority reacting late to new technologies, new operating structures and other shifts in the unlicensed market.
3. To shorten the process, Benter proposed giving the GGL’s Administrative Board direct oversight over the regulator’s activity. Under his proposal, the board would continue to work with Germany’s 16 federal states, but would also be able to make operational decisions through a shorter approval process.
4. The GGL currently uses prohibition orders, payment blocking, IP and network-blocking procedures, advertising restrictions and referrals to criminal prosecutors. Benter said these administrative tools need to be backed by more consistent criminal enforcement, especially where companies and individuals are based outside Germany. He called on German public prosecutors to open more cases against overseas-based individuals suspected of targeting German consumers without a licence.
5. The push comes after a major investigation into an alleged illegal online gambling network operating from Frankfurt and the wider Rhine-Main region. More than 100 officers searched 11 residential locations.

For high-risk operators, the important bit is not just that Germany wants to act harder. It is that the GGL is arguing for faster internal decision-making, more aggressive blocking measures, and more criminal proceedings in cross-border cases. That combination matters for payment routes, traffic sources and the practical life expectancy of unlicensed brands targeting German players.