On 1 July, Germany’s Joint Gambling Authority (GGL) marked the fourth anniversary of its establishment with a change in leadership.
Sandro Kirchner, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior for Sport and Integration (pictured), officially assumed the chairmanship of the GGL board of directors.
He succeeds Reiner Moser, Head of the Ministry of the Interior, Digitalisation and Municipalities for Baden-Württemberg, who held the role over the past year.
During Moser’s tenure, the GGL strengthened its position as a central institution responsible for the supervision of Germany’s online gambling sector.
Under his leadership, the authority sharpened its focus on combating illegal gambling operations while simultaneously supporting a compliant and transparent environment for licensed providers.
Moser emphasised that the rapid evolution of the internet gambling market had demanded swift institutional responses.
He credited the GGL’s board and staff for meeting those demands with determination and efficiency, citing strong inter-state collaboration as a factor in achieving key objectives.
As incoming chairman, Kirchner is stepping into the role with a stated intent to intensify the authority’s focus on enforcement and international cooperation.
He affirmed that cracking down on unlicensed gambling providers and enhancing consumer protection would be his top priorities. In his view, the profitability of illegal gambling operations must be curtailed in Germany.
Kirchner’s approach appears to be aligned with a broader political will to fortify Germany’s digital oversight architecture against unlicensed market players while maintaining the legitimacy of authorised platforms.
GGL report shows improvements, questions remain
The GGL recently released its 2024 Activity Report, detailing both its oversight of legal gambling operations and intensified efforts to suppress unlicensed activities.
According to the report, the GGL processed 230 applications for licences or modifications and oversaw the operations of 141 regulated providers in 2024.
High-profile sporting events prompted increased vigilance due to spikes in betting volume and marketing activity.
A key development was the adoption of the GGL’s Markers of Harm. These indicators are intended to identify early signs of problematic gambling behaviour among players.
During 2024, the Mainz Administrative Court upheld their legality, marking a pivotal moment in the standardisation of player protection mechanisms across Germany.
Enforcement against unauthorised providers also expanded. The GGL initiated 231 prohibition proceedings and reviewed more than 1,700 websites.
As a result, around 450 illegal platforms became inaccessible through direct prohibitions, while an additional 657 were blocked via geo-restrictions enabled by the EU’s Digital Services Act.
Efforts to block financial transactions further hindered unlicensed operators by disrupting payment flows.
Despite these results, concerns remain about the accuracy of estimates of the size of the unlicensed market. While the GGL places the share of unauthorised gambling at 25% of the online market, licensed operators argue the true figure may be significantly higher.
A 2023 study commissioned by the DOCV and DSWV found that only slightly more than 50% of gambling activity was directed through licensed channels, indicating a potential gap in regulatory impact.
Industry skepticism persists, as well. Tipico’s iGaming director, Christian Heins, criticised the report’s timeline consistency in a LinkedIn post, noting discrepancies between claimed enforcement milestones and actual data.
