The move to ban the advertising of gambling companies in Germany is continuing. More discussions on the subject will take place next month. It’s not pleasing Deutscher Sportwettenverband (DSWV) who are the German operator association.
Definitely not on their Christmas card list is Ulrich Mäurer. He’s the interior minister for Bremen and has called for the banning of gambling advertising. He wants to see the subject discussed at December’s Conference of federal states’ interior ministers.
The interior minister believes that imposing such a ban would be important in two ways. It would help in the fight against gambling addiction and protect minors.
Muarer recently appeared on the German TV programme ‘Sport Inside.’ He spoke out about the growing links between football clubs and betting companies. His view is that the clubs are making profits from a sector that is “particularly harmful to society.”
He’s not just concerned about how much money football clubs make from gambling sponsorships. The interior minister is also worried about the perceived impact on younger people. He believes that this exposure to gambling brands puts the youngsters at more risk of becoming gamblers.
His words did not go down well with the DSWV. They are “astonished” by his anti-gambling views. What really frustrates them is that Bremen approved a State Treaty on Gambling that came into force in July. That allows gambling advertising as long as the offers have been state-tested and are secure. The Treaty set out to protect gamblers from unlicensed operators.
Mathias Dahms is the President of the DSWV. He believes that the views of Maurer are counterproductive. Dahms added that advertising is important when it comes to helping customers knowing which are legal operators and those that aren’t.
He hopes that at the upcoming Conference of Interior Ministers, they will be bound by what the State Treaty on Gambling says, rather than try to ban gambling advertising. Research has suggested that implementing the treaty could see a 40% increase in players deciding to gamble offshore and that would potentially cancel out efforts to protect players.
The DSWV President said that the state shouldn’t “give preference to its own gambling products. After all, all holders of a German gaming licence – both state-owned and private – have been extensively checked by the authorities for their reliability and performance.”
He added that this als applies when it comes to advertising strategies and enforcement agencies should be concentrating on enforcing the banning of advertising by illegal providers.
