Summary proceedings: Payment blocking for illegal providers allowed

An online gambling provider based in Malta has taken action against the so-called payment block by the German gambling authorities. Specifically, the authority has prohibited a payment service provider from accepting payments to the casino without a German licence. The online casino, in turn, took legal action against this ban in summary proceedings - but without success.

Earlier this year, we at GambleJoe reported on a court ruling which stated that network blocking is illegal in Germany. A few days ago, the Higher Administrative Court of Saxony-Anhalt ruled in a summary proceeding (3 M 72/23) that blocking payments for unauthorised gambling is legal.

Online casino from Malta takes action against payment blocking

The unnamed online gambling operator based in Malta has challenged the ban on payments for unauthorised online gambling in summary proceedings. The Joint Gambling Authority of the German Länder (GGL) prohibited a payment service provider from participating in payments for the provider's online gambling offers. The reason given: The provider does not have the necessary gambling licence from Germany.

As a result, the administrative court of Halle (Saale) initially rejected the online casino's application. The court justified its decision by stating that there was no need for legal protection for the application as it was an illegal gambling offer. The operator had requested that the payment service provider be authorised to accept and forward payments to the online casino. The online gambling provider then appealed to the Higher Administrative Court of Saxony-Anhalt.

Saxony-Anhalt OVG rejects online casino complaint

The 3rd Senate of the OVG Saxony-Anhalt dismissed the appeal in its decision of 26 October. In doing so, the court first stated that the online gambling company's need for legal protection could not be denied.

At the same time, however, the judges ruled that the injunction issued against the payment service provider was lawful. This was based on Section 9 (1) sentence 3 no. 4 of the State Treaty on Gaming, which states that the Gaming Supervisory Authority must

"prohibit those involved in payment transactions, in particular credit and financial services institutions, from participating in payments for unauthorised gambling after prior notification of unauthorised gambling offers, without the need for prior recourse by the Gaming Supervisory Authority to the organiser or intermediary of public games of chance".

OVG: principle of proportionality not violated

The Court also found that the payment blocking orders did not violate the principle of proportionality. This is the case even if a payment service provider is forced to stop doing business with the online gambling operator in question.

The GGL had previously argued that illegal online gambling, in combination with the addictive nature of such offers, posed a potential risk. The OVG Saxony-Anhalt did not disagree with this reasoning, meaning that the prohibition order can ultimately be considered lawful. The decision of the OVG is already legally binding.

Conclusion

It is becoming increasingly difficult for online casinos without a German licence to operate in the German-speaking market. The gaming authorities are taking increasingly aggressive action against illegal gambling operators, including the use of tools such as payment blocking. It is expected that these measures will be continued or even intensified in the future in order to strengthen the legal gambling offer in this country.

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