Lottoland receives lottery licence from the GGL

A few weeks ago, Lottoland Deutschland GmbH surprisingly received a licence as a commercial gaming broker. This means that Lottoland will be able to sell lottery products in Germany completely legally in future. But why did the Hamburg-based company receive such a licence in the first place?

It was only in summer 2022 that we at GambleJoe reported that the GGL had initiated administrative proceedings against Lottoland and Lottohelden. Almost two years later, the same gambling authority has now granted the company a lottery licence. According to Lottoland, it is now authorised to broker both state lotteries and state-licensed lotteries.

Lottoland is now a legal lottery broker in Germany

Lottoland Deutschland GmbH has been included in the official whitelist of the Joint Gaming Authority of the German federal states (GGL) in Table 5 under "Commercial gaming brokerage" since 21 March. Accordingly, Lottoland now has a valid lottery licence for its websites "lottoland-deutschland.de" and "lottohelden-deutschland.de". More precisely, the Hamburg-based company is a commercial gaming broker in accordance with Section 19 (2) GlüStV 2021.

With this authorisation, Lottoland is now permitted to sell lottery products nationwide. This includes not only state lotteries, but also state-authorised lotteries. So far, neither of the above-mentioned domains can be accessed, but are merely registered. Lottoland itself has stated that no date has yet been set for the platforms to go online.

Other companies that currently hold a lottery licence as commercial gaming brokers include Lotto24 AG, lottobay GmbH and Tippland GmbH.

Lottoland wants further licences for online slots and sports betting

Lottoland Deutschland GmbH emphasises that it is proud to have finally received approval to operate legally on the German lottery market after a lengthy process. The company's Managing Director, Magnus von Zitzewitz, commented on the authorisation as follows:

"We are delighted that our licence application has now finally been approved by the Joint Gaming Authority of the German federal states following an intensive review by the federal states."

In addition to the lottery licence already granted, Lottoland Deutschland GmbH is currently applying for further licences for sports betting and virtual slot machines. The GGL could issue the corresponding licences in the coming weeks or months.

Lottoland: From black sheep to exemplary licence holder?

In the past, we at GambleJoe have already reported in detail on the fact that the Joint Gaming Authority initiated administrative proceedings against the Lottoland Group in the summer of 2022. In this context, the authority also endeavoured to prevent payment flows to the Lottoland Group and also called on internet providers to block the relevant platforms for users from Germany.

The dispute between Lottoland and the GGL appears to have been settled in the meantime. Otherwise, the licensing authority would hardly have granted a coveted lottery licence to Lottoland Deutschland GmbH. It was only in December last year that we reported that the GGL had issued an urgent warning against taking part in the annual El Gordo Christmas lottery.

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