Bet3000 Forced to Take Online Site Offline in Germany
Munich (ots) – Hundreds of thousands of customers of the sports betting provider Bet3000 have to make do without the family company’s online offering for the time being. In the provider’s legal dispute wiht the Joint Gaming Authority of the States (GGL), the responsible OVG Saxony-Anhalt recently decided that the more than 160 branches in Germany can remain open, but the online site must be taken offline.
Bet3000 is currently working on various partnerships and cooperation opportunities in order to be able to offer existing customers a platform in 2026. From the provider’s viewpoint, the latest twist in the case, which deals with the complex regulation of the State Treaty on gambling (GlüStV 2021), once again shows the need for a stronger exchange between GGL and the providers.
Before the introduction of the GlüStV in 2021,the sports betting market in Germany was not completely unregulated,but the legislation at the time was inadequate from both a national and EU perspective. Although private providers were approved at the time, the system had many exceptions and gray areas, which brought with it the potential for abuse. With the conclusion of the 2021 state treaty, the GGL was created to serve as a regulatory authority for and moderate a legal sports betting market. The technical systems to ensure data security, addiction prevention and youth protection were designed by the authorities and given to the providers for connection. These had no meaningful influence on the design of the solutions, but had to implement the technical specifications. Rouven Stoehr, COO at IBA Entertainment Ltd., thus still sees room for enhancement: “The difficulty as 2021 is that such new regulation cannot cover all potential scenarios right from the start, especially when such highly complex technical systems are involved.”
According to the GGL’s activity report for 2024, around 90% of German-language sports betting sites are illegal. If you limit yourself to the share of market activity, this number is reduced to around a quarter, according to GGL; an autonomous study puts it at just under 50 percent. Despite the existing regulation, a significant portion of the market remains unregulated.
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