- Germany’s regulator pegs on-line black-market playing at roughly 25%
- Impartial research recommend unlawful play exceeds half of on-line exercise
- Strict guidelines could also be driving high-risk gamers offshore
The German gaming regulator Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) estimates the dimensions of the net black market to be 25% in its 2024 exercise report, which implies that roughly 1 / 4 of German gamers play on unregulated websites.
In Germany, it’s unlawful to play at an unlicensed on-line playing web site, so why are so many individuals doing it? (Picture: Shutterstock)
It is a huge deal, since in Germany, not like in lots of different jurisdictions, the act of merely collaborating in unlawful playing is a criminal offense, which means a major share of the inhabitants may technically be in breach of the legislation. However based on on-line gaming and information web site Video games Hub, the GGL’s estimation is optimistic, and the true determine could also be a lot bigger.
Excessive-Stakes Black Market
Some analysts have put the dimensions of the black market at 40% to 60%, Video games Hub notes. A late-2025 research by the Handelsblatt Analysis Institute for sport, On-line Playing in Germany: Channelling and Improvement of the Black Market, concluded that the black market’s share is probably going above 50% — which means greater than half of all on-line playing exercise occurs outdoors the regulated sector.
The research additionally means that headline participation figures could understate the issue. Researchers argued that high-intensity and high-stakes gamblers are disproportionately lively on unlicensed platforms, amplifying the black market’s impression past easy participant counts.
From the report: “It ought to be famous on this context that unlawful on-line playing suppliers more and more entice gamers who play with excessive depth and above-average stakes. Subsequently, the black market within the playing sector is much more vital with regard to the amount of playing than is mirrored within the above percentages.”
Germany overhauled its on-line gaming rules in 2021, shifting from a patchwork of state-based regulation to a unified framework that is likely one of the strictest in Europe. The main focus was on participant safety and minimizing playing hurt.
Reforms included strict limits on stakes (€1 per spin on slots), in addition to the pace of play. There have been strict limits on advertising and marketing and promotions, whereas OASIS, Germany’s nationwide participant self-exclusion database, affords an ever-accessible, 24-hour panic button for gamers to provoke exclusion instantly.
Modifications Forward
Critics argue, nevertheless, that if black-market participation is as widespread as some estimates recommend, these protections could also be counter-productive, pushing higher-risk gamers towards offshore operators the place safeguards are weaker or solely absent.
The GGL is at present endeavor a assessment of its regulatory framework with the purpose of enhancing channelization — i.e. its potential to attract prospects to the regulated market. This might finally result in a softening of rules because it strikes a extra sustainable steadiness between participant safety and market viability.
