Study says gambling ads up three fold in Germany

Advertising for online gambling operators in Germany has more than tripled over the past five years, according to a new study. That number would be impressive in any market but it’s even more impressive when you consider that online gambling isn’t even legal in most parts of that particular country.
So how does this dynamic occur in a country that’s been fighting an internal battle over online gambling for many years? It’s one of the elements of a European gaming market that’s rife with grey market operators, confusing bureaucracies, and plenty of wiggle room for players who want to skirt the law.
The study, which was conducted by a German marketing firm called Research Tools, using data from a research and analytics shop called AdVision, found that roughly €401 million ($445 million USD) was spent on gambling advertising in Germany as of May, 2019. That number represents a nearly three-fold increase over the amount spent on that same vertical five years ago.
Most of that money, about 80 percent, is spent on television advertising and represents the efforts of about 64 different companies. By way of comparison, five years ago that number was about 37 percent lower. Of those 64 operators, 12 spent more than €10 million ($11.1 million USD) over the past 12 months.
The contradictions highlighted in this study are a pretty accurate of the chaotic administrative state of the German gambling market. Authorities in various German states have battled back and forth over licensing and regulatory issued for years, creating a maelstrom of regulations that allow operators to serve German customers, even though their status isn’t all that clear or secure.