The police crime statistics (PKS) for the past year were published just under a fortnight ago. According to these statistics, the overall crime rate continued to rise in 2023. A total of almost six million offences were recorded, which represents an increase of 5.5% compared to the previous year. Among other things, the development of recorded cases in the area of unauthorised gambling is striking.

In mid-April, the most well-known and most frequently cited crime statistics in Germany, the PKS, were published. The PKS is a kind of ‘work record’ for the police and shows how many offences have been documented in which area of crime, which type of offender commits which offences and how, for example, the clearance rate has developed. It is important to know that the PKS does not shed light on the dark field, as all data and facts only relate to the offences reported to the police.

Sharp rise in offences relating to unauthorised gambling

All offences relating to illegal gambling are recorded under the PKS code 661000. These are the criminal offences covered by Sections 284 et seq. of the German Criminal Code (StGB). A look at the number of recorded cases shows that there has recently been a significant increase in these offences.

While only 555 such cases were reported nationwide in 2016, there were already 1,907 in 2021, almost four times as many cases. A new high was then reached last year with 5,281 cases. The following overview shows how offences relating to illegal gambling have developed in recent years:

  • 2016: 555 cases
  • 2017: 504 cases
  • 2018: 832 cases
  • 2019: 947 cases
  • 2020: 762 cases
  • 2021: 1,907 cases
  • 2022: 1,861 cases
  • 2023: 5,281 cases

Explosion in the number of cases within one year

What is particularly striking about the police statistics is the sharp increase in recorded offences from 2022 to 2023. Within this year alone, the number of cases in the area of unauthorised gambling almost tripled from 1,861 to 5,281 (+183.8%). Just a few months ago, we at GambleJoe reported that the Federal Minister of Justice wants to decriminalise illegal gambling. According to his plans, the offence will in future only be an administrative offence and no longer a criminal offence.

The PKS figures also show that over-regulation does not lead to less crime. Instead, the exact opposite is achieved and the number of cases increases by leaps and bounds. This makes a mockery of the channelling objective.

Tip: Last year alone, more than 5,000 gambling enthusiasts received mail from the police, mostly accusing them of participating in unauthorised gambling. In another article, we have already asked ourselves what players can best do in such a case.

The police crime statistics (PKS) have been published once a year since 1953 and provide information on the number of criminal offences received or processed by the police, among other things. The PKS also provides details on suspects, victims, circumstances of offences and damage. A total of 5,940,667 cases were recorded in the PKS for the year 2023. The clear-up rate across all offences was 58.4%, meaning that statistically, just under six out of every ten offences are solved.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/polizei-polizeieinsatz-sicherheit-2808325/

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