State online casinos in Bavaria: A modern offer or a danger for players at risk of addiction? Experts express concerns.
Munich - The opportunity to bet large sums of money on games such as poker, black jack or roulette on the Internet is now being offered by the state for the first time in Bavaria. This is causing concern and criticism among gambling addiction experts. “We view this very critically,” says Konrad Landgraf, managing director of the State Office for Gambling Addiction in Bavaria. “Supply increases demand. Until now, the big advantage of state casinos was that they only existed in nine locations. Thanks to the possibility of taking part in casino games online, the casino offers are available everywhere in Bavaria.”
Criticism of state online casinos in Bavaria – “The provider side sees it differently”
The state office had already expressed its concerns in a statement on the latest amendment to the implementing law for the State Treaty on Gambling. However, the Advisory Board on Gambling Addiction, which is supposed to advise the states in accordance with the state treaty, was not consulted about the specific offer from the Bavarian lottery and casino administration, said Landgraf. “We believe this is a new offer and would have liked to be heard. But the supply side sees it differently.”
The casino administration announced on Tuesday, April 16th that it would be the first state-run provider in Germany to open an online casino - as a supplement to the nine casinos in the Free State. It is a “modern, serious and safe gaming offering”.
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Despite various measures, experts see weaknesses in protecting those at risk of addiction
Participation in the game is only permitted for players aged 18 and over who reside in Bavaria. Individual stake and loss limits, player bans, a ban on parallel games and identification and authentication procedures as well as an automated system for the early detection of players at risk of addiction are intended to ensure safe, responsible gaming.
Nevertheless, Landgraf, managing director of the state office, sees weaknesses in the protection of players at risk of addiction. The blocking file works quite well, but players could quickly lose a lot of money with the new offer: “If you can increase the deposit limit from 1,000 euros to 10,000 euros per month, in exceptional cases even to 30,000 euros, this online casino hardly offers that more of a protection.”
More than 200,000 people in Bavaria are addicted - most of them gamble on the Internet
The State Office for Gambling Addiction in Bavaria estimates that more than 200,000 people in the Free State are addicted to gambling. The majority of those affected who sought help in Bavarian advice centers played games primarily on the internet in 2021 and 2022. Slot machine games and sports betting were particularly popular among those affected. Online casino games followed in third place - these were not yet offered by the government at the time.