Germany, Portugal and Latvia step up efforts to tackle illegal gambling

Across Europe, regulators and industry stakeholders are stepping up efforts to combat illegal gambling.

Germany's Police and the slot industry trade association have issued a joint proposal calling for stronger enforcement.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese regulator has implemented a new platform to track the illegal market.

Furthermore, a more concrete development includes an investigation of a network of at least 24 Estonian companies with Latvian owners or directors, allegedly used to process payments for unlicensed online casinos.

Below, we take a closer look at these developments…

German police and industry call for tougher enforcement

The German Police Union (GdP) and the Slot Machine Association (Die Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft) have issued a joint position paper calling for more effective measures to combat illegal slots. These include modern technology and better cooperation among relevant authorities.

Furthermore, they urge legal changes, including easier confiscation of assets where there is a significant mismatch between wealth and legitimate income.

They are also calling for organised illegal gambling operations to be added to the list of offences which allow police to use source telecommunications surveillance. This would allow authorities, under a relevant legal framework, to secretly install surveillance software on suspects' computers or smartphones.

The software in question permits monitoring of communications even when encrypted messaging services or internet calls are used.

The GdP says some seized illegal gambling proceeds should go to state police budgets to better fund black market enforcement.

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.

Portugal’s regulator turns to automated monitoring

Portugal’s gaming regulator (SRIJ) has picked a French company, Sharp Vision, to monitor illegal online gambling.

The aim is, of course, to establish a more digitalised and effective detection of illegal sites, which would then be referred to national authorities for blocking.

Sharp Vision said the launch of the platform will allow SRIJ to “strengthen and modernise its inspection mechanisms, evolving from an essentially manual and reactive approach to a permanent, automated digital monitoring model supported by real-time information.”

In a recent parliamentary debate, Portugal’s Government made tackling illegal gambling its priority. In this regard, the Minister of Economy pledged new legislation this summer, but the Government has yet to introduce it.

Latvia-Estonia link emerges in illegal gambling payment network

Latvia’s public radio broadcaster and Estonian business news publication, Äripäev, have uncovered a suspected network involving at least 24 Estonian-registered companies with Latvian owners or directors, allegedly used to process payments connected to unlicensed online casinos.

Most company owners and directors were young Latvian residents. Journalists found that many appeared to know little about the companies' actual activities and had been offered a few hundred euros to become nominal owners.

The companies reportedly presented themselves as IT, trading or virtual-goods businesses, including websites selling gaming "skins." Journalists allege these structures were used to disguise gambling-related payments and move funds through payment institutions in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

The journalists say the investigation cannot establish who ultimately organised the alleged scheme. Instead, the structure appears deliberately fragmented.

Global Gaming Insider recently looked into the industry's approach towards the black market in the Huddle report.

At the same time, concerns are rising about the illegal market booming in Brazil, following President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s signing of a provisional measure to prohibit iGaming and fixed-odds sports betting.