German Police Descend on Illegal Gambling Halls

German police have descended on shisha bars, tea houses and illegal gambling halls to investigate claims of suspected money laundering and tax evasion within the immigrant community.  

Eleven stores were shut down during the raid due to non-compliance of Covid19 regulations and many other businesses had stock and equipment seized. 

 Raid Reward 

According to German news agency, DPA, officers confiscated €4,000/US$40,000 in cash, 19 gambling machines and three kilograms/6.6 pounds of shisha tobacco. No one was arrested though. 

Most of the raids took place in the North Rhine-Westphalia Bundesland (or State) where interior minister, Herbert Reul, felt that the police actions were an important sign to show the government’s zero-tolerance strategy against this kind of crime. He commented: 

“It's about showing those who are destabilizing everyday life in these cities, it's over. Here, the rule of states is valid, not that of the family.” 

And by “family”, he indicates his belief that many illicit gambling businesses are run by immigrant families. 

 Regions Raided 

The raids were conducted in Essen, Bochum, Herne, Witten, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Wuppertal, and the county of Mettman and should stand as a warning to those who continue to offer games of chance without a license. 

Land-based gambling is legal in most parts of Germany and gamblers can visit brick-and-mortar establishments freely. As both traditional casino games and poker are available country-wide, players have a great deal of choice as to which games to play.  

Gambling supervision is done on a regional level though, with each Bundesland creating specific regulations and restrictions suited to their interests. 

In more conservative parts of the world, gambling is completely outlawed, and this brings with it the need and opportunity of illicit gambling rooms. Given Germany’s liberal approach, these illegal gambling facilities seem completely unnecessary. 

 German Gambling 

Germany currently rests in a state of limbo as pending iGaming paperwork gets shuffled from one government desk to desk, and further amendments are made before the final ruling gets signed off.  

The date has been pushed back numerous times with the current ETA for sign off sitting at mid-2021 if they’re very lucky. Given the number of times this date has altered though, no one is holding their breath. 

The issue is mainly the fact that each state in Germany has a very different approach towards games of chance with some gambling associations feeling that online gambling will negatively affect their land-based businesses.  

As each state needs to reach a consensus before the overarching National Act can be implemented, the toing and froing of the paperwork may continue for many more months. 

Brick and mortar establishments seem to have a far easier time of it, and it would be interesting to see how these illegal establishments proceed from here. While it is unlikely that the police raids will do much to prevent further illicit activity, we would hope that the government will offer support to the businesses who apply for relevant licensing.