German gambling faces black market surge amid regulatory debate
Germany’s gambling regulator, Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), released its annual report highlighting a growing black market issue in online gambling . Legal gambling gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 5% in 2024, reaching €14.4 billion, generating around €7 billion in tax . The GGL blocked roughly 450 illegal operators and geo-blocked 657 websites under the EU’s Digital Services Act .
However, the GGL estimates that €500–600 million (~3–4% of the legal market) comes from illegal German-language sites, and about 25% of high-risk online betting is off-market . Industry groups like the German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) argue the black market is far larger—potentially up to half of all online gambling .
To tackle this, the DSWV’s five-point plan includes making legal offerings more competitive, creating a national gambling prosecutor, tracking transactions (especially crypto), holding ad platforms accountable, and pushing for coordinated EU regulation . Both regulators and industry agree that balancing robust player protection with an attractive legal market is crucial to channel users away from unlicensed sites.
