Germany: Operators call for action, citing up to 100,000 illegal gambling machines

German industry leaders and politicians are calling for stronger enforcement and new policy measures. Legal operators such as Merkur and Löwen say the regulatory environment is pushing players towards illegal alternatives.

Industry estimates suggest Germany now has around 160,000 legal gambling machines, while between 60,000 and over 100,000 machines are believed to be operating illegally.

Authorities report a rise in enforcement actions but acknowledge the scale of the problem. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, police uncovered 350 illegal gambling events in the past year. These include poker games, other unlicensed activities and illegal machine operations.

Recently, a large-scale raid against illegal gambling in Berlin led to the seizure of 120 slot machines. Around 400 officers from various agencies, including the Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Customs and Tax investigators, searched 74 locations across the city.

Merkur Vice Chief Executive Manfred Stoffers said strict rules are driving customers away from regulated venues. He argued that illegal operators ignore regulations entirely and often run machines in unlicensed venues without player protection.

Sebastian Fiedler, domestic policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, said illegal gambling must be consistently tackled while also strengthening controls on legal offerings, including stricter rules on the location of gambling venues. Fiedler rejected the industry’s argument that expanding legal gambling would reduce the illegal market, warning instead that it could increase overall gambling participation.

During the 23rd Gambling Symposium at the University of Hohenheim in March, Ronald Benter, a Board Member of the GGL, discussed this year's evaluation of the State Treaty on Gambling.

Experts have cautioned that too strict regulations may harm legal gambling, whereas rules that are too lenient could lead to greater gambling-related harm.