Slot machines, sports betting and loot boxes: According to the Gambling Atlas, 1.3 million people in Germany have a so-called gambling disorder. The drug commissioner Blienert wants to better protect young people in particular from addiction.
According to experts, 4.6 million adults in Germany are addicted to gambling or are showing initial symptoms of it. This emerges from the “Glücksspielatlas 2023”, which was presented by the Federal Drug Commissioner Burkhard Blienert.
According to this, around 1.3 million suffer from a so-called gambling disorder. This means that they develop health, financial or social problems as a result of participating in slot machines, sports betting and other games of chance.
Another 3.3 million people engage in risky gambling behavior with early signs of addiction – such as withdrawal-like symptoms when not gambling or returning to gambling the next day to make up for losses.
Drug Officer Blienert: Dangerous trivialization
The drug commissioner Blienert sees an urgent need for action to combat gambling addiction. In order to better protect young people, sports betting advertising must be banned on TV before 11 p.m., he demanded when presenting the gambling atlas. The combination of sport and sports betting results in a dangerous trivialization. Almost one in three people who place a sports bet have a gambling disorder.
Gambling addiction ruins existences, destroys families, and drives people to suicide, emphasized Blienert and called for more effective youth protection regulations. There is something wrong when young people are lured into online games through so-called loot boxes “in seemingly harmless games, specifically to play with money and supposed luck.”
Participation in gambling declining
The Gambling Atlas published by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research in Hamburg, the German Center for Addiction Issues in Hamm and the Gambling Research Department at the University of Bremen provides a basic overview of the topic of gambling in Germany. It summarizes available data and provides information about legal regulations as well as addiction and prevention.
The data on gambling addiction is based on a survey from 2021. Men, young people, people with a migrant background and members of sports clubs and their fans are particularly affected by gambling addiction. According to the report, participation in gambling is generally declining. In Germany, 30 percent of the population took part in gambling in 2021. In 2007, this share was 55 percent.
Revenue at 13.4 billion euros
The gambling atlas also gives an insight into how much the industry turns over. The so-called gross gaming revenue – that is, what income came in after deducting the winnings distributed – was 13.4 billion euros last year.
The providers’ cash registers are still ringing the most in the slot machine sector (4.8 billion), followed by the lottery (4.1 billion). There has been a strong increase in sports betting since its legalization in autumn 2020 (1.4 billion). According to the paper, the state collected 5.2 billion euros in taxes through legal gambling.