Centralised German regulator “ready to go” following power transition

Germany’s new federal gambling regulator, Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), has said it is “ready to go” ahead of the transition of regulatory power in the market in 2023.

From 1 January, the GGL will assume total responsibility for the regulation of the German market as the transitional federal states pass their individual remits to the centralised body.

The states and the GGL met in a symbolic handing over of files which delegated the responsibility of regulation to the GGL.

The GGL will now take on the regulation from five federal states as Germany moves to unify its approach to regulation.

Authorities in Saxony-Anhalt (online poker/virtual slot machines), Hesse (sports and horse betting), Rhineland-Palatinate (so-called ‘social lotteries’), Hamburg (class lotteries) and Lower Saxony (commercial game brokerage) will all pass regulatory oversight to the GGL in the new year.

The new authority will be based in Saalestadt, with around 20 employees joining from the Saxony-Anhalt office, with headcount to be bolstered throughout 2023.

GGL board member Ronald Benter said: “With this step, an important milestone of the State Treaty on Gaming 2021 has been reached. The bundling of competencies in the GGL raises the regulation of the online gambling market to a new level.”

Fellow GGL board member Benjamin Schwanke talked up the new regulator saying: “We’re ready to go. We have set up the appropriate structures and processes to regulate the online gaming market effectively from 1 January 2023.

“In doing so, we can build on the experience of the [states] and their expertise, for which we are very grateful,” Schwanke added.