Michael Schmitt Facebook ad: “The German channelisation problem is not a theoretical…”

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1365813262312979

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1,835

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The German channelisation problem is not a theoretical dispute between regulators and industry. It is a consumer protection question. Legal offers protect players only when players use them. Every player who leaves the licensed framework is also leaving the tools that make the framework meaningful. The official figures published by the GGL suggest that a substantial majority of online gambling activity is inside the regulated market. That is important and should not be dismissed. But a remaining illegal share of 23 percent, as referenced by the GGL in relation to the 2024 study, still represents a serious challenge for a system built on channelisation. The question is not whether Germany has created a licensed market. The question is whether that market can continue to attract and retain enough consumer behaviour to justify confidence in the model. The licensed market cannot be expected to carry this burden alone. It needs consistent enforcement against illegal alternatives, clearer consumer communication, a credible commercial framework and regulatory decisions that are tested against behaviour rather than intention. The strongest consumer protection system is not the one that looks strictest in isolation. It is the one that keeps the player inside the protected environment. That is the uncomfortable lesson. A legal framework does not win consumer behaviour automatically. It has to earn it, defend it and measure it continuously. If friction, uncertainty or commercial weakness in the regulated market strengthens alternatives outside the intended framework, then channelisation becomes less a regulatory slogan and more a warning sign.