The 16 federal states of Germany December 14 formally handed over regulation of interstate gambling to Gluecksspiel (GGL). They voted to dissolve the “Gambling Collegium” while GGL ramped up to take over its job as the “common authority for German Gambling.”
That includes licensing, technical accreditation, enforcing penalties, taxation and settling market disputes.
The regulator will be based in Halle (Saxony-Anhalt), with Ronald Benter and Benjamin Schwanke appointed as joint-chief executives. It will start with 20 employees at the beginning of 2023 taken from the Saxony-Anhalt State Administration Office.
Schwanke declared, “We’re ready to go. We have set up the appropriate structures and processes to effectively regulate the online gaming market from January 1, 2023. In doing so, we can build on the experience of the Gambling College and the expertise in the countries, for which we are very grateful.”
It took a dozen years of negotiation in the Bundesrat (German parliament) before the states agreed to amend the country’s interstate laws and regulate online gaming.
DSWV, Germany’s sports betting trade association, hailed the dissolution of the previous gaming framework (the GlüNeuRStv), which it once called “unsustainable.”
