In Germany more than 1,4 million people gamble pathologically and another three million gamble problemically. In the legal and regulated market, youth protection and a certain degree of player protection are guaranteed, but with illegal offers the players are completely at the mercy of the market. This applies both online and to illegal slot machines. Studies show that almost a third of gaming devices in Germany are illegal or manipulated and at least half of all sales come from illegal devices.
Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues Burkhard Blienert spoke about this during an event dedicated to illegality in the gaming market.
Burkhard Blienert explained that: “Gambling addiction is a serious social problem. We need to do much more, especially to stop the supply of illegal games. The protection of players, children and young people must be applied everywhere. To avoid creating a completely Wild West situation, we must give additional tools to public order offices, the police and the judiciary, and urgently. Concretely this means that we have to adapt our criminal law to reality: it is currently extremely difficult for prosecutors to prove illegal gambling when so-called fun games are offered somewhere in the back of a bar. These are gaming devices in which any winnings are not paid automatically, but are made by the person who delivers them from hand to hand. I have already sent a proposal to the Federal Minister of Justice on how to consistently sanction the installation of these devices. Another point is: we also need to think about how to decriminalize gambling addicts. On the one hand because addicts need help rather than punishment and on the other because many gambling addicts will only have the courage to report illegal gambling if they go unpunished."
The results of the evaluation of gaming regulation, i.e. the federal law on slot machines, were also presented during the event. According to Burkhard Blienert, it is urgently necessary to review the existing rules and make them more applicable: “The study shows very clearly: law enforcement offices are completely overwhelmed. We must help them immediately. What we need is clear responsibilities from suppliers and much, much more control from local authorities. For example, a digital register of appliances summarizing all the data on legally installed appliances would be conceivable. This would at least make it clear which devices can be placed and which cannot. The authorities could thus take action more quickly against illegally installed machines. The regulatory framework also needs to be updated. Furthermore, machine controls must finally be updated and supported by digital applications. Overall, controls need to become simpler and more effective so that more controls are possible and illegal gambling providers are under heavy pressure. Those who do not take player protection seriously will face serious consequences in the future.” Photo: Angelika Kuntzagk
