The German gambling regulator has called on the Federal Ministry of Justice to “rethink” planned reforms that it says would weaken its influence on the illegal market.
Germany’s justice minister Marco Buschmann is seeking to remove section 284 from the country’s Criminal Code, which allows the GGL to file criminal charges with the public prosecutor’s office if it suspects illegal organisation of games of chance.
GGL board member Ronald Benter said: “We would like the Federal Ministry of Justice to rethink the planned reform and rather demand that the paragraph be expanded to include illegal gambling providers based abroad. “The possibility of criminal prosecution abroad will have a deterrent effect on illegal providers abroad.”
Benter was speaking at the third LOTTO Talk in the Berlin TV Tower last week, where represetnatives from the gaming industry, politics and administration met to discuss the state lottery companies’ work.
The GGL’s board of directors insisted that the “current conflict of opinion as to whether German criminal law is even applicable to gambling providers based abroad could be resolved with appropriate clarification in the previous legal norms,” it said.
“Such a measure could lead to a regulatory gap and decriminalize a significant portion of money laundering,” the GGL added.
Benter also spoke about the GGL’s progress since the re-regulation of Germany’s market.
“The fact that we have built such a powerful team in a short space of time is quite remarkable,” he said.
“The employees have acquired a lot of know-how in a very short time and are pursuing the goals of GGL with real passion. This is also reflected to us from different sides.”
