German federal regulators Glücksspielbehörde said they would step up pressure on internet providers to block Lottoland lottery gambling sites after the company managed to persuade some payment providers to cut ties with them.
Lotto Land, or the land of lotteries.
In July, the German regulator took over the enforcement of unlicensed online gambling. Since then, it has pressured several payment providers to stop working with Lottoland.
Lottoland in Germany
Glücksspielbehörde considered Lottoland’s initial payment and IP blocking orders resulting from its lottery betting to be illegal under Germany’s Fourth State Treaty on Gaming. The regulator argued that the vertical posed a particular threat because players may mistakenly believe that gambling operators of Lottoland are genuine lotteries.
The regulator plans to pressure ISPs to block Lottoland access. It may impose substantial fines on ISPs that fail to comply.
GGL board member Ronald Benter indicated that raising awareness about ISPs is very important. He added that those who defied GGL’s orders by allowing access to unauthorised offers should be severely punished.
The authority mentioned that additional steps can be taken against unlicensed sites by reporting them to the tax authorities for prosecution. This is because blocking websites and payments would only hamper operations without requiring compliance. The country’s regulator recently came up with a new plan requiring ISPs to block websites illegally in the country. These websites supposedly operate outside the legal system.