Illegal gambling on the agenda at DACHL regulators’ conference
Germany’s GGL hosted representatives of gambling regulators from Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland
Germany.- The German gambling regulator Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) has hosted a an annual regional conference intended to promote professional cooperation among German-speaking regulatory authorities. Representatives from the fellow DACHL countries of Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein attended the meeting in Halle over Wednesday and Thursday this week.
The meeting focused on the exchange of best practices and and the evaluation of developments in gambling law. One major topic of the conference was on measures to combat illegal gambling, including the use of technical measures such as IP blocking. Best practices and the various legal and technical approaches were discussed, and regulators pledged to intensify international cooperation in this area.
The conference also evaluated the German State Treaty on Gambling – the GGL is currently conducting a market review following the introduction of the legislation, which introduced regulated online gambling in Germany. Different criminal law provisions in gambling regulation were debated, and there was also discussion of how loot boxes are assessed under gambling law. Participants also identified overlaps between respective national regulatory frameworks.
Issues surrounding sports betting were also addressed in depth. Illegal betting in amateur sports and technical options for preventing the circumvention of identity verification of players were also on the agenda.
A final topic was an evaluation of approaches to gambling addiction prevention. This included discussion of the markers of harm, which the regulators believe will help identify conspicuous gambling behaviour at an early stage.
A proposed European standard on gambling harm markers promoted by the European Betting and Gaming Council recently received a positive vote from the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). A strong majority of national standardisation bodies voted in favour of the standard, and the finalisation process is expected to be complete by early 2026
The GGL emphasised the importance of international cooperation. CEO Ronald Benter said: ” Through close cooperation with European regulatory authorities, we can benefit in all areas – from combating illegal gambling to supervising licensed providers and preventing gambling addiction. At the same time, we contribute our experience and successful measures to the European exchange”.
The GGL said it plans to intensify international cooperation in the coming years through ongoing information exchange and the use of modern technologies to support regulatory work. An event with other European gambling regulatory authorities is planned for 2026.
