Review of the year 2023: Online gambling in Germany

2023 is behind us. We would like to take this opportunity to look back on another eventful year. What has happened in the German online gaming market over the past twelve months? Find out in our comprehensive review of 2023.

It feels like it's only been a few weeks since we published the 2022 Year in Review here. Another year has now passed and we would like to take a critical look at the events of the past year - unfortunately a few days too late. After all, 2023 once again saw some interesting court rulings and developments in the German online gambling market.

January 2023: GGL regulates gambling market and first state-owned online casino opens

The Joint Gaming Authority of the Federal States (GGL) has been regulating the cross-border gambling market in Germany since 1 January 2023, i.e. for one year now. Since then, the states have been relieved of this responsibility.

The first state-run online casino opened in the same month. On 24 January 2023 we reported on the launch of "die-spielbank.de" with its six employees and over 300 slots on offer.

February 2023: OVG judgement on network bans and fine against casino streamers

In mid-February 2023, the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate (OVG) issued a landmark ruling on the much-discussed issue of network bans. In an expedited procedure, the judges ruled that Internet bans are illegal in Germany. Until now, there has been no legal basis for ordering network blocks.

In February last year, we at GambleJoe also reported on a fine imposed by the Tiergarten district court on the controversial casino streamer Ron Bielecki. He was ordered to pay a total of €480,000 in fines for participating in and advertising illegal gambling.

March 2023: Impact of GlüStV 2021 questionable according to GJ survey

In March last year, we reported in detail on the results of the GambleJoe survey "Impact analysis of the new regulation according to GlüStV 2021". Among other things, we found that almost three quarters of respondents found online casinos with a German licence unattractive. In addition, 59 percent of respondents stated that they would continue to play on platforms without a German gaming licence despite the GlüStV 2021 coming into force.

April 2023: Record fine for William Hill and major raid on tipsters

At the beginning of April, we at GambleJoe reported on a record fine of almost 22 million euros imposed on William Hill. This is the highest fine in the history of British gambling operators due to several breaches in the areas of anti-money laundering and player protection. The UK Gambling Commission has recently taken an increasingly tough stance on breaches by its licence holders, and has demanded that they pay up.

The major raid on sports betting provider Tipster at the end of April also attracted media attention. The allegations ranged from illegal gambling and tax evasion to the formation of a criminal organisation. The company's licence has since been revoked, and its 340 brick-and-mortar betting shops in Germany were also forced to close at short notice.

May 2023: Casino at Potsdamer Platz reopens after modernisation

On 9 May 2023, an article published on GambleJoe discussed the reopening of the Casino am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. The location had previously been extensively modernised at a cost of 20 million euros. Guests can now look forward to a glamorous 14 metre high crystal chandelier, modern LED lighting, new lifts and escalators.

June 2023: Nearly 200,000 people banned in OASIS ban file and new law in Malta

June 2023 was another interesting month on GambleJoe. At that time we reported that there were already almost 200,000 banned people in the OASIS ban file. By comparison: In January 2022, there were only 22,000 bans in the OASIS player ban file.

In mid-June, we also reported that the Maltese government was looking to protect its domestic gambling industry with a new law. This followed a dramatic increase in the number of player complaints against Malta-licensed online casinos.

July 2023: €120 million jackpot hit and BFH ruling on taxation of poker winnings

Last summer started with a phenomenal win for a player of the EuroJackpot lottery - he won around 120 million Euros with his 10 Euro ticket. The lucky player came from the Schleswig-Holstein area and we at GambleJoe naturally reported on this sensational triple digit million euro win.

In a press release, the Federal Fiscal Court also pointed out that poker winnings can be subject to income tax under certain circumstances. The specific case involved a mathematics student who won a lot of money playing online poker over several years and now has to pay a significant amount of tax.

August 2023: "Merkur Casino" at German festival & GGL introduces licence seal

A "Merkur Club Casino" was set up at the largest electronic festival, Parookaville, last summer. On 120 square metres, visitors were able to get to know and try out numerous games from the Gauselmann Group free of charge. Among other things, various slot machines and a wheel of fortune were on offer. The corresponding article on GambleJoe was controversially discussed by our community.

Also in the summer, the Joint Gaming Authority (GGL) finally released an official licence seal. This means that players can now see at a glance whether an online casino has the required German gaming licence.

September 2023: GGL imposes fine on Platincasino

The German Gambling Authority, based in Halle (Saale), imposed its first significant fine on a casino operator in September last year. As we reported on GambleJoe, Red Rhino Ltd. had to pay a fine of 50,000 euros. As a result of the fine, the gaming company, which operates the Platincasino platform among other things, has withdrawn from the German-speaking market for the time being.

October 2023: DAZN launches sports betting portal

Until a few months ago, most sports fans probably only knew DAZN as a successful streaming service. But the UK-based company has now expanded into sports betting, officially launching DAZN BET in Germany.

November 2023: Payment blocking allowed & deposit limits partially increased

In November last year, it was announced that an online gambling operator had unsuccessfully challenged the German gambling authorities' decision to block payments. In an expedited procedure, the Higher Administrative Court of the state of Saxony-Anhalt ruled that the authority is entitled to implement payment blocking for illegal operators in Germany.

At the end of November 2023, there was also good news regarding the strict deposit limits. Since the new GlüStV 2021 came into force, a monthly deposit limit of €1,000 per player applies to all operators. However, Rabbit Entertain IT Limited managed to push through higher deposit limits of up to €30,000 per player in the autumn. Rabbit operates online casinos including Lapalingo, Lord Lucky and Tigerspin.

Get to know Lord Lucky Casino at GambleJoe!

Get to know Lapalingo Casino at GambleJoe!

December 2023: Gauselmann takes over ten casinos & GambleJoe Advent Calendar

At the end of the year it was announced that the multi-billion euro Gauselmann Group would be taking over ten casinos in Lower Saxony. The locations, which are currently operated by Spielbanken Niedersachsen GmbH, will be under the control of Gauselmann from September this year.

Of course, our annual GambleJoe Advent calendar was also well received in December. This year we had a strong partner in the form of online gaming centre CrazyBuzzer, so we were able to give away prizes worth a total of €10,000. We were also delighted with the positive feedback we received from our members in the comments section.

Conclusion

Network blocking, payment blocking, a major raid on Tipster and a record fine for William Hill. These are just some of the issues that have been of interest to us over the past year. 2023 is now behind us and 2024 is already gathering pace. We look forward to seeing what events and innovations the new year will bring. What would you most like to see in the German online gaming market in 2024?

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/neujahr-2023-silvester-ferien-7687353/