Stricter laws demanded for amateur football betting

In the late summer of this year, amateur football was really shaken up by a documentary by the public broadcasters: Many clubs and DFB officials realised that betting on matches in the lower leagues is an international business worth millions. After weeks of clarification and controversy, calls for concrete and effective laws against such behaviour are now slowly but surely becoming louder.

As reported by Bayrischer Rundfunk (BR) in mid-November, there is further movement in the difficult issue of illegal sports betting on amateur matches in Germany.

• Following a relevant conference, the sports ministers of the federal states stated in a resolution that the current legal situation is inadequate to protect amateur football from the apparently massive influence of betting and the associated risks of manipulation.
• As can be read in the BR report, the reason for this was in fact the research carried out by public television as part of the documentary ‘Attack on amateur football - the greed of the betting industry’ (in which, incidentally, Bayrischer Rundfunk played a leading role).

The sports ministers of the federal states see a delicate dilemma here: according to the decision, the integrity of local sport is nevertheless jeopardised, even if participation in such manipulation-prone bets is only possible from abroad. Understandable: After all, criminals can of course still try to influence German matches and then bet on them via foreign intermediaries.

What we already suspected in the article on the DSWV's criticism of certain depictions in the amateur football betting documentary now seems to be materialising: People are calling for adjustments to the legal provisions that would also prevent foreign providers from doing business with betting on German amateur football. Of course, odds on amateur leagues in other countries cannot be prevented - and that is not the aim at all. The explicit aim is to protect German competitions and their players. The acute suspicions of manipulation in 17 amateur matches, which we reported on a few weeks ago, showed that there is a considerable need for this.

German licence only for betting sites that do not offer international betting on amateur matches in Germany?

The question is, of course, how a tightening of the law can be implemented that really effectively excludes betting on German amateur football. The central idea is to link a licence in Germany to the condition that providers - including on their international platforms - no longer allow betting on German amateur matches.

According to a resolution passed by the Conference of Sports Ministers, it will be examined whether the Interstate Gambling Treaty can be amended accordingly in order to legally prevent such practices.

• ⚖️ Interwetten sets a precedent: The Austrian bookmaker Interwetten will completely waive odds for German amateur leagues in future, thereby taking on a pioneering role as an official sponsor of the DFB. This voluntary commitment was welcomed by the Sports Ministers' Conference.
• ⚠️ Need for legal clarity: However, experts emphasise that a measure such as the one voluntarily implemented by Interwetten should not depend on the ‘goodwill’ of the providers. Instead, clear regulations should be created for all bookmakers authorised in Germany and their subsidiaries.
• ⚡New legal territory with difficulties: Such a law would be a novelty, as it would not only regulate the activities of the companies in question within Germany, but would also influence their international business practices. Critics could see this as a potential conflict with EU-wide regulations on the freedom to provide services. On the other hand, a clear argument in favour of such a legal regulation is the fact that betting on amateur games is prohibited in Germany and therefore their support (for international business) should also be prohibited.

A lot has already happened with betting on German amateur matches

The initial documentation and the subsequent public debate have already had a noticeable impact on international betting. According to the BR report, live betting on matches from the lower German football leagues has now become rarer. Nevertheless, the problem is far from being solved.

The sports ministers have proposed concrete measures to further promote positive developments:

1. Examination by the GGL: The Joint Gambling Authority of the federal states (GGL) has been asked to analyse whether and in what form action can already be taken against existing offers of live betting on amateur games. In particular, international platforms that continue to offer German amateur matches in their portfolios are to be targeted.
2. Prohibit data scouting: Another important immediate measure concerns data scouting. The sports ministers are demanding that clubs, event organisers and operators of municipal sports facilities use their domiciliary rights to prohibit this practice. Data scouts collect information on scores, cards and other events on site during amateur matches, which is transmitted to betting providers in real time. These statistics make live betting in amateur sport possible in the first place. In recent times, data scouts have increasingly been expelled from the pitches when they have been recognised.
3. Increased controls and cooperation: In addition to legal checks, more intensive cooperation between clubs, regional associations and supervisory authorities should ensure that unauthorised data collection is consistently prevented. Technical solutions such as geofencing could (at least in theory) also be used to block connections to certain foreign servers for people in the vicinity of the pitches while a match is in progress.

The ministers see the progress and further solutions as important first steps, but emphasise that more comprehensive legal adjustments will be necessary in the long term in order to guarantee the integrity of amateur sport in the long term.

Conclusion

Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/soccer-soccer-ball-soccerball-5065614/