It was a landmark event in the history of German online gambling as the newly minted joint gaming authority of the federal states (GGL) came into power on January 1st, 2023.

Ronald Benter, CEO of GGL, said:

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"With the GGL, Germany will, for the first time, have a central supervisory and enforcement authority for gambling on the Internet. We are well prepared and able to work."

The country's first overarching gaming authority has been in development for nearly two years and has been seeded control over all online gambling activities in all sixteen federal states. It is the first time in the country’s history that a single governing body has been given supervisory and approval power over gambling activities in all states.

 No Time for Idle Hands

The gaming authority is determined to honour the good faith of those who have applied to participate in the country’s legal online gambling market.

Speaking on licensing, Benter said:

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"Our goal for 2023 in this area is to complete all licensing procedures, including gaming and betting testing, and thus create an attractive legal gaming market."

To this end, they have already processed the bulk of the 78 applications for providers of “virtual slot machines and online poker” and 600 “individual game permit” submissions.

Only 25 of these approved providers appear on the GGLs whitelist. They will be added once the security deposits for their licenses have been processed.

 Hit the Ground Running

The GGL has been preparing for its inauguration since mid-last year, using the opportunity to prove that it is up to the task. In the six months leading up to the new year, the members of the GGL pursued nearly 300 counts of illegal gambling and advertising unlawful gambling.

They also shouldered the burden of reviewing more than 1150 illegal casino and betting websites, resulting in over 60 prohibition proceedings and 30 criminal charges. A fantastic achievement for any gaming authority in less than half a year, even more so for one on probation.

Working Smarter and Harder

The GGL is approaching their battle with illegal gambling sites with the precision and planning of a general at war. One of their recently effective strategies is a pincer move combining cutting internet access to their websites and cutting off their financial transactions.

Co-director of GGL Benjamin Schwanke said:

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"We attach great importance to transparent communication with the payment service providers and the Internet providers. The majority of payment service providers are withdrawing from business with illegal gambling providers. Deposits with illegal gambling providers are becoming increasingly difficult if not impossible.”

By reducing the number of players who can access an unlicensed site and reducing the ability of these sites to monetise those players who do make it past the country’s restrictions, they intend to make it untenable to operate illegally in Germany.

 GGL Goals for 2023

As we can see, the newly empowered gambling authority has not been sitting on its hands and has set an energetic pace for the year ahead. It intends to build on the momentum of the last six months with aggressive goals for the new year.

Benter commented on their plans, saying:

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“Our goal is a level playing field for all providers. We want to ensure that the business model of offering illegal or non-compliant gambling on the Internet is not worthwhile in the long term.”

They are willing to revoke gambling licenses and block future license applications. They will continue to pinpoint non-approved gambling sites as part of their drive to create a safe and secure gambling jurisdiction.