Gambling is a billion-dollar business for providers. A large part of this business are coming from non-regulated areas. The players bear the risk.
According to the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), lying about gambling is a hallmark for gambling addicts – playing with ever-increasing stakes and criminal fundraising is another. According to estimates, there are 200,000 pathological gamblers in Germany, says Tilman Becker, head of the gambling research center at the University of Hohenheim. There would also be around 300,000 problematic players.
The majority of these pathological and problematic players gamble on machines. For almost 77 percent of the players who go to outpatient counseling or treatment centers, this is the main form of gambling. This emerges from the Addiction Help Statistics 2017 of the Institute for Therapy Research.
Factual tolerance of illegal games
Online casinos and online poker are part of the non-regulated gaming market – they are illegal in many countries such as Germany and Indonesia. But even if these games are not legal, many players still find a way to have access to these sites like live casino in Indonesia (https://dewa303.id/sbobet-taruhan-judi-bola-dan-live-casino-online/). In Germany, this black market includes gambling offers that do not have a German license but do have one from another EU member state. Much of it is actually tolerated.
The unregulated market is booming
Of the approximately 14.2 billion euros in revenue generated by gaming providers in Germany in 2017, 22 percent were generated in the non-regulated area, which also includes online sports betting. The figures come from the annual report of the federal state gaming regulators. While the regulated market grew by only 1 percent compared to the previous year (EUR 157 million), the non-regulated market grew by 24 percent (EUR 626 million).
The federal states are currently debating a reform of the State Treaty on Gambling. An opening of the sports betting market is planned. However, online gambling is said to remain prohibited.
Gambling researcher Becker calls for more control and regulation from a cross-border authority. Above all, player protection must continue to be promoted: “Experts agree that a lock file is a very important preventive measure for gambling addiction.” So far there is a locking system for all arcades only in Hessen. The lock can be applied for by the players themselves, relatives or the operators.
Georg Stecker, the spokesman for the board of the German Automata Industry (DAW), advocates a nationwide biometric access system. “We don’t want to make money from addicts.” The association refers to trained personnel in the arcades – only in a legal framework could players play protected.