Germany: Joint Gaming Authority of the States Calls on Internet Service Providers to Bloc Illegal Gambling Offers from Lottoland
GGL Asks ISPs to Take Action
Germany’s gambling regulator has asked internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to Lottoland Group and its related pages. The authority wants ISPs to IP block the unlicensed operator and, by extension, chase it out of the country.
Lottoland Group and its subsidiaries have been illegally operating in Germany for many years. The GGL finds these offerings particularly dangerous because many believe they are lottery offerings. In reality, Lotteryland and its subsidiaries, which include lottoland.com, lottohelden.de and lottohelden.co, offer betting on the outcomes of lottery games.
According to Germany’s laws on gambling, such products are prohibited. As a result, it is GGL’s job to protect local players from content that might harm them.
Germany Wants a Healthy Betting Market
This summer, as approved by a German court, the authorities began cracking down on Lottoland Group. At first, they asked the five biggest ISPs in Germany to block access to the site and its subsidiaries. While these actions are still a subject to judicial review, the GGL is adamant that unlicensed gambling must be addressed and that the State Treaty on Gaming must be enforced.
In addition, the GGL asked payment providers to block future transactions to Lottoland and its subsidiaries, thus preventing the company from taking bets from German players. Ronald Benter, CEO of the GGL, warned that providers that are asked to block Lottoland but fail to do so risk fines.
The GGL is Germany’s new federal gambling regulator which began work on July 1. Right now, the new authority is hard at work curbing unlicensed gambling and protecting German bettors from harm. The regulator’s responsibility is to take action against any providers that are not on the official white list.
By the beginning of the next year, the GGL will assume full responsibility for gambling in Germany and will be tasked with nurturing the legal market while fighting the black market. Benjamin Schwanke, chair of the GGL, reassured people in the sector that combating the black market remains GGL’s top priority.
https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/ggl-asks-more-isps-to-block-lottoland/
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The joint gaming authority of the federal states is asking other Internet service providers (ISP) to block the Internet pages of the Lottoland Group. First successes in payment blocking: payment service providers terminate cooperation with Lottoland.
In order to take the Lottoland Group's illegal gambling offerings off the market, GGL consistently uses all the instruments at its disposal. It has already been possible to ensure that several payment service providers have stopped working with Lottoland and will exclude future transactions with illegal gambling providers.
Another instrument for combating illegal gambling is network blocking (referred to as IP blocking in the GlüStV 2021). The joint gaming authority of the federal states relies on transparency and discussions with the Internet service providers in its approach to network blocks. “ Raising awareness among internet service providers is extremely important. Providers who, despite the GGL's order, do not prevent access to unauthorized offers are threatened with fines ," stresses CEO Ronald Benter.
In the case of the proceedings against the Lottoland Group, the first two administrative proceedings regarding network blocking were initiated in July with the aim of blocking access to the Lottoland Group's illegal offer, which had been determined by the court. At the beginning of October, three more ISPs were asked to block the Lottoland Group's websites. Addressees are thus the five Internet service providers with the highest turnover. " Of course we are aware that we are breaking new legal ground and that our actions will be subject to judicial review. The task of the GGL is to consistently implement the State Treaty on Gaming and thus law and order," says Benjamin Schwanke, CEO.
Since July 1st, 2022, the Joint Gaming Authority of the Federal States (GGL) has been responsible for combating illegal gambling on the Internet and advertising for it. "Our priority in combating the black market is the enforcement of providers who are not on the official whitelist," says Schwanke. The enforcement instruments of the new authority include, among other things, payment blocking and network blocking. The latter is aimed at all internet service providers who act as access brokers for illegal online gambling offers. In addition, there are other enforcement instruments in cooperation with other authorities, for example reports to the tax authorities for the prosecution of tax events.
In the case of network blocking, the Internet provider is requested as part of a regulatory order to block access to the unauthorized offer via Internet access. To ensure the implementation of this decree, the authority can impose sensitive penalties on the relevant providers.
About the administrative procedure for blocking unauthorized lottery bets from Lottoland
The network of companies, which operates under the name Lottoland, has been offering illegal gambling for years. This offer is particularly precarious as many players believe they are entering a lottery game at Lottoland. However, this is not the case. With the offers from Lottoland at www.lottoland.com and
www.lottohelden.de and www.lottohelden.com are bets where you bet on the outcome of a lottery draw instead of participating in the actual lottery draw. These offers cannot be permitted on the basis of the State Treaty on Gambling and have therefore already been prohibited. However, you can still be reached online. For this reason, the first legal steps taken by the joint gaming authority of the federal states were aimed at stopping the Lottoland offers through administrative procedures for network blocking and payment blocking.
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Lottoland Disputes GGL’s “Illegal Operator” Label
The Glücksspielbehörde (GGL), Germany’s new federal gambling regulator continues to crack down on Lottoland Group, whose offerings it considers to be “illegal.” However, the operator disputes these claims, believing that its offerings are in line with the European Union’s freedom of services.
ISPs Aren’t Happy with GGL’s Alleged Abuse of Power
The German regulator claims that Lottoland, which offers betting on the outcomes of lottery games, is illegal and should not be offerings its products to customers in the country. As a result, the GGL asked payment providers and internet service providers to isolate Lottoland from the local market. These measures targeted all of Lottoland’s subsidiaries, which include lottoland.com, lottohelden.de and lottohelden.co.
However, these blocking orders were not very well-received by the service providers themselves. The regulator claims that ISPs should voluntarily issue IP blocks to unlicensed gaming operators. However, the authority also threatens to fine the providers if they fail to do so. In addition, while network blocks might be one of the most severe measures a regulator can impose, they can be easily circumvented with the use of VPN tech. As a result, German ISPs criticized the GGL for blackmailing them into imposing inadequate measures.
Lottoland Said Its Offerings Are Permitted by European Law
Lottoland, on the other hand, disagrees with being labeled as an “illegal operator.” The company stated that the blocking orders that the GGL issued are in breach of Germany’s gambling law. A Lottoland representative told Gambling News that the company has already applied for licenses which are still being evaluated. Since the application has not been rejected, GGL has no right to issue an IP block, Lottoland argues.
Lottoland vowed to defend its rights to operate in court, should the GGL proceed with its IP block orders. Moreover, the operator pointed out that the GGL might also be uncertain about the legality of its measures. The Lottoland representative quoted Benjamin Schwanke who noted that the GGL is entering “a new legal territory” and confirmed that its actions are “subject to a judicial review.”
The Lottoland spokesperson emphasized that ISPs are yet to block Lottoland but if they do, the company might take legal action. The operator firmly believes that all its products and services are in line with the European Union’s freedom of services. It is adamant that German law is in breach of the EU treaties, which should take priority over national law.
Lottoland concluded that its offerings are not illegal, despite GGL’s claims on the contrary.
https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/lottoland-disputes-ggls-illegal-operator-label/