German Online Casinos Set TV Ad Limits

Online casinos licenced by the German state of Schleswig-Holstein have agreed to self-impose limits to how they advertise via television in the country. The operators will adhere to a model which limits the number of minutes they can promote themselves collectively per month.

Critics have claimed that online gambling advertising in Germany has jumped in recent weeks, with these being addressed by a member of the German Association for Telecommunications and Media (DVTM).

All of Schleswig-Holstein’s 11 regulated casinos, eight of which are represented by the DVTM, will only be allowed to advertise on TV for a combined 17,000 minutes per month. This applies to freeview channels.

To make sure that operators remain compliant, it is believed that the model will use “neutral media monitoring data.” Moreover, regular reports will be filed to gambling authorities. If online casinos are found to be breaching these regulations, they will be dealt with accordingly.

Dr. Andreas Blue helped to negotiate the model. He had the following to say about online casinos in Germany and their new ad restrictions.

“The present model of self-regulation for nationwide TV advertising in online casinos is strictly logical and can be easily checked by Nielsen Media Research on the basis of neutral media data. Absolute transparency and fairness are thus guaranteed for all sides. It has already led to the fact that the advertising time for licensed online casinos from Schleswig-Holstein on national television has been significantly reduced since 2019 and, moreover, has not increased during the corona period,” Andreas Blue said.

DVTM CEO Renatus Zilles responded to claims related to a “massive increase in gambling advertising.” He believes that these are “fake news.”

Zilles also said that “the alleged increase in gambling advertising is regularly circulated by interest groups such as the vending machine industry, but also on the political side.”

Online gambling activity also went down during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research. In April, MySportWetten found that just 14.9% of its research participants had continued betting during the absence of sports.