German Media Body Vaunet Calls for Advertising Regulatory Rethink

Vaunet, the association of private media businesses in Germany, has called on state lawmakers to remove advertising restrictions set to impact broadcasters in the new gambling regulatory framework currently under discussion.

It believes the restrictions, such as daily periods where advertising is not permitted and the wording of certain elements of the draft document contravene the core goal of channeling players to legal offerings.

“Advertising underpins private broadcasters’ businesses, and acts as an instrument to steer players towards legal offerings in the gaming market, a key regulatory goal of the federal states,” Matthias Kirschenhofer, chair of Vaunet’s internal betting working group, said.

Kirschenhofer said the new regulations, in theory, should allow broadcasters to tap into new revenue streams, at a time when ad spend from other sources was stagnating, though the planned advertising restrictions could effectively shut this off.

“[The advertising controls] will ultimately prevent investments in attractive content. We therefore appeal to the federal states to make further improvements here,” he added.

Vaunet took issue with the provisions that prohibit the advertising of online slots, casino and poker between 6 AM and 9 PM on radio and television, as well as the whistle to whistle ban on sportsbook advertising.

These would put broadcasters – already facing a stagnating advertising market – at a significant disadvantage to other media and advertising channels, where no such limitation applies, it claimed. If such a prohibition is to be maintained, Vaunet argued, internet portals should be subject to the same controls.

“Radio and television stations are fully aware of their responsibilities under the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty. Especially in a regulated broadcasting environment, the promotion of regulated gambling should not be prohibited,” Vaunet said.

This tenet was unclear, it added, as it did not confirm whether sportsbook operators would be prevented from advertising its online casino products during times where betting promotions were not allowed.

The prohibition of any connection between sports betting advertising and the publication of live scores for sporting events amounted to an effective sportsbook advertising ban on all media portals, it added.

Vaunet concluded that the regulations in their current form would not be effective in guiding gamblers to regulated offerings.

“In order for legal providers to prevail against illegal sites, they must be able to provide competitive offers and advertise them adequately,” Vaunet said.