Hong Kong PR

(AsiaGameHub) –   The DOCV maintains that the estimates provided by Germany’s gambling authority remain imprecise.

Germany.- Simon Priglinger-Simader, vice president of the online casino trade body DOCV, has challenged the federal regulator’s most recent data regarding the nation’s illegal gambling market. He characterized the channelisation statistics as “conservative” and lacking accuracy.

The study commissioned by the GGL and performed by the Blockchain Research Lab calculated a channelisation rate of 77.03 per cent, suggesting that regulated gambling platforms comprised just over three-quarters of the German online market in 2025. Unlicensed gross gaming revenue (GGR) was projected at €547m for 2024, marking a 17 per cent rise from the €466m recorded in 2023.

While the GGL stated the results aligned with their projections, Priglinger-Simader argues the research was compromised by “non-representative sampling,” asserting that it failed to reflect the actual extent of the black market and contradicted “observed tax figures.”

He contended that turnover in the illegal sector is likely significantly higher, driven by enticing bonus schemes and the absence of constraints like spin or loss limits. He noted that licensed operators have reported feedback from users who migrated to unlicensed sites to bypass stringent regulatory requirements.

Furthermore, he highlighted “recall bias,” stating: “When you ask individuals if they engage in illegal gambling, they are highly likely to deny it.”

The DOCV asserts that its own 2023 research, conducted by economist Gunther Schnabl from the University of Leipzig, provides a more accurate assessment, indicating that roughly half of German players utilized illegal websites.

A revised report from Schnabl is anticipated by mid-2025, which will integrate new Nielsen data and an updated registry of unlicensed operators.

In other developments, a survey has sparked debate regarding the influence of gambling advertisements in Germany, while the third national report on gambling prevalence—authored by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research (ISD) and the University of Bremen—has advocated for more rigorous oversight of the legal market.

The Glücksspiel-Survey 2025 advises that the federal states and the GGL should prioritize “structural prevention over a reliance on individual accountability to reduce gambling-related risks.”

Both of these recent reports may influence the GGL’s evaluation of the first five years of the Interstate Gambling Treaty, which is scheduled for submission to the Bundestag later this year. The regulator has committed to determining whether the current framework has successfully balanced market sustainability, player protection, enforcement of standards, and advertising regulations.