Germany's GGL Signs a Declaration of Intent With Britain's Gambling Commission

The German regulator calls it a first framework for exploring information exchange, with a pilot on illegal websites only a longer-term prospect. Its sharper ask is for Berlin to clarify the criminal code so prosecutors can reach offshore operators.

• The Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) hosted a European Regulators Roundtable in Halle on 4 November and signed a joint declaration of intent with the Gambling Commission there
• The GGL calls it a first framework for exploring deeper information exchange, with a pilot on illegal gambling websites considered as a longer-term step
• Neither the declaration's text nor its signatories nor the other regulators present have been published, and the Gambling Commission had announced nothing by 10 November
• The GGL also renewed its call to clarify section 284 of the Criminal Code, echoing the online casino lobby after the €5.86bn illegal casino case in September
• The signing came days before the IAGR's first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, which the Gambling Commission opened by saying it would follow the money of illegal operators

A Halle Roundtable Ends With a Bilateral Declaration

The GGL hosted the European Regulators Roundtable in Halle (Saale), where it is based, on 4 November 2026, according to a press release it published on 5 November. It did not name the European supervisory authorities that attended or say how many.

According to the release, the discussion centred on illegal online gambling, the cross-border exchange of information, the regulation of gambling advertising and new developments such as prediction markets, with website blocking, public awareness and anti-money laundering also discussed. No statement from the wider group was published.

A First Framework, With a Pilot Only in Prospect

"A concrete result of the meeting was the signing of a joint declaration of intent between the GGL and the British gambling commission," the release says, in iGT's translation from the German. Both authorities want to deepen their cooperation and build a structured exchange of information, according to the GGL, which calls the declaration "a first framework to explore forms of deeper information exchange" (translated). "As a longer-term prospect, a pilot project on the exchange of information about illegal gambling websites is being considered," it adds (translated).

The release names no signatory, term or specific obligation, and does not mention payment blocking or joint enforcement. The Gambling Commission's news pages carried no announcement of the declaration as of 10 November.

The format reflects the GGL's status. When the Gambling Commission published a joint statement from regulators of seven countries, Germany among them, on 25 November 2025, pledging to share information on illegal operators, the GGL said three days later that as an authority of the Länder responsible only for supervising online gambling, it could not formally co-sign a joint declaration at international level.

The GGL Asks Berlin to Clarify the Criminal Code

In the same release the GGL restated a domestic demand. Section 284 of the Criminal Code (StGB) makes it an offence, punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine, to organise public gambling without official permission. The GGL wants it clarified so that prosecutors can act against operators based abroad that target users in Germany. "Since the provision has so far often not been applied to such providers, a clarification could make criminal prosecution easier and have an additional deterrent effect," it says (translated). It has repeated the request to the Federal Ministry of Justice in writing and will approach the ministry again.

A Declaration of Intent Is a Start, Not a Data-Sharing Regime

The GGL's own words set the limits: a framework to "explore", a pilot "considered" for the longer term. Nothing in the release commits either authority to share lists of illegal domains or payment processors by a given date. Both hold the material for a pilot: the GGL said 1,843 illegal sites were unreachable from Germany by the end of 2025, as it reported at its fifth anniversary, and the Gambling Commission says it reported 7.8 million URLs to search engines between April and September. Matching those lists is the obvious first test.

The Bilateral Route Works Around Germany's Federal Limits

A declaration between two authorities does not require the GGL to speak for Germany as a state, which lets it pursue the kind of exchange the 2025 statement promised. The Gambling Commission is a natural first partner: it published that statement, and since 9 November it says it is going after the payments, advertising and game supply behind illegal sites.

The Criminal Code Request Is the More Consequential Ask

Information exchange helps find offshore operators; section 284 decides whether German prosecutors can charge them. The German Online Casino Association (DOCV) made a similar demand in September, calling for the gambling offences to be rewritten so that the place of the crime is where the player sits. With the regulator and the licensed industry asking for much the same change, the decision rests with the federal government, which the GGL cannot direct.

The Halle declaration is a modest first step whose value depends on a pilot that does not yet exist. The criminal code request will tell more about how far Germany is prepared to go against operators it cannot reach directly.