The new German online gambling regulator Glücksspielbehörde (GGL) wants to put internet service providers (ISPs) on the honor system. It plans to request ISPs to voluntarily block websites that are taking bets illegally without a license in Germany.
The agency took over enforcement against unlicensed gaming on July 1, six months before it will take over all regulation of gaming in the country. It has already revealed some of its plans to use payment and IP address blocking against violators.
Recently it sent a letter to ISPs in Germany and conceded that while they aren’t legally obligated to block sites upon request, doing so would help prevent those sites from preying on the public. The first operator GGL has targeted is lottery operator Lottoland, which it says has been violating the law for years.
In the letter GGL wrote, “The GGL pursues a cooperative approach with discussions at eye level,” adding, “This does not mean that a provider should carry out blocking ‘on demand’, but that the GGL explains the legal basis from which the ISP’s obligation arises, as well as the previous action against the illegal gambling provider.”
A formal request would be another matter, however. GGL wrote, “If the ISP fails to comply with the formal request to block an illegal gambling offer from the network, GGL can impose a penalty payment, also based on the economic capacity of the addressee, and can amount to up to €500,000 (£425,201/$508,349).”
While conceding that its requests could be considered a violation of the providers’ fundamental rights, the GGL added, “The GGL’s social mission is to combat illegal gambling in order to protect gamblers and minors from gambling and betting addiction and game manipulation,” the GGL said. “Against this background, according to our examination, these interventions are justified and therefore permissible. They meet the proportionality requirements.”
It concluded, “We have also taken into account the relevant European regulations, in particular freedom of service and freedom of establishment and the requirements for network neutrality. Here, too, we come to the conclusion that these are not violated by blocking the illegal offers.”
