Gambling addiction: How well are players protected in licensed online casinos?

The Joint Gambling Authority of the federal states, GGL for short, was founded to ensure the protection of minors and players and to protect players from gambling addiction. But how well are potentially vulnerable players protected from problematic gambling behaviour in licensed online casinos?

According to the Gambling Atlas 2023, around 1.3 million Germans suffer from a ‘gambling disorder’. The particularly dangerous forms of gambling include slot machines in arcades and online casinos as well as live sports betting. The task of the newly established gambling authority is to prevent and combat gambling addiction. To this end, the existing legal regulations on player protection are to be implemented.

As a result, the authority checks in particular compliance with the minimum playing time of 5 seconds, the autospin and jackpot ban and other player protection requirements. But do the existing regulations actually ensure that gamblers in licensed online casinos are optimally protected from the dangers of gambling?

Players are often left to their own in licensed online casinos

In practice, the gambling authorities do ensure that player protection regulations are complied with. However, it is doubtful whether these protect individual players from problematic gambling behaviour. After all, every player can easily gamble at least 1,000 euros per month online without having to ask critical questions or provide evidence. At best, the minimum playing time ensures that it takes a little longer to gamble your money. And a ban on autospins and jackpots will not deter addicts from depositing and losing more money in the online casino.

Of course, players can ban themselves if necessary. Just a few weeks ago, we at GambleJoe therefore asked ourselves how well the player ban system is currently working. The problem: Of the more than 270,000 active player bans at present, 260,000 were initiated by the players themselves. This means that only around 10,000 bans are the result of third parties such as online casinos. This means that anyone who does not realise that they are suffering from problematic gaming behaviour can continue to play and, in the worst case scenario, lose four figures per month.

In the recent past, one of the questions we have asked ourselves is whether senior citizens need to be better protected from the dangers of gambling addiction. In autumn 2021, we also established that lorry drivers are also particularly at risk of gambling addiction.

Black market also accepts people with problematic gambling behaviour

Anyone who is bothered by the countless player protection regulations or the comparatively high online gambling tax, for example, can theoretically switch to the black market at any time. To date, a high three-digit number of online casinos without a German licence are aggressively courting new customers. Back in February of this year, we tried to answer the question of why players play in online casinos without a licence in an article. Although the gambling authorities are now trying to prevent payment flows to illegal online casinos and enforce IP bans, these efforts have not yet resulted in any more Germans playing on the black market.

The fact is, however, that anyone who plays for real money in an online casino without a licence from Germany is liable to prosecution and, in the worst case, risks a fine or imprisonment. For this reason, we at GambleJoe only recommend reputable online casinos with a valid GGL licence that are 100% legal.

Discover the best online casinos at GambleJoe!

It was only at the end of August that the GGL announced that contacts with the state coordination centres for gambling addiction were to be intensified. For example, GGL board member Ronald Benter met with the managing director of the state gambling addiction coordination centre in Bavaria (LSG) for an intensive exchange. Among other things, they also discussed the ‘buwei.de’ platform, which is intended to offer help for those affected by gambling addiction, relatives and interested parties.

Conclusion

Experts agree that online gambling is associated with an increased risk of addiction compared to other types of gambling. This is due to the fact that gambling is available around the clock and from any location. It is therefore important and right that the national gambling authority endeavours to ensure that player protection measures are adhered to.

However, it is sometimes questionable whether the player protection measures actually achieve their goal in practice and protect players from the dangers of gambling. Despite the minimum playing time, betting and deposit limits, autospin and jackpot bans, every single player can lose at least 1,000 euros a month without anyone intervening from outside. The instrument of third-party blocking is hardly used at all, so that even in licensed online casinos, every gambler is basically on their own. Gambling providers and the state are in a permanent conflict of interest, as they initially benefit greatly from the problematic gambling behaviour of addicted people.

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