Germany’s gambling regulator Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) has published its first breakdown of quarterly data on cross-border sports betting and iGaming stakes.
Covering the first and second quarter of 2025, the data sets out how much players spent on gambling across Germany. It includes certain areas within the regulated online and land-based markets.
GGL seeking ‘greater transparency’ by publishing frequent data
The inaugural dataset comes after Sandro Kirchner was appointed chairman of the GGL in July. Kirchner is currently state secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior for Sport and Integration.
The GGL said it aimed to ensure greater transparency in the legal gambling market by publishing frequent data.
“The publication is intended to contribute to the fact- and evidence-based discussion and to the evaluation of the GlüStV 2021,” it said in a statement on Friday.
The sector is awaiting an update on the ongoing evaluation of German gambling regulation. The review was launched in December 2023 and aimed to assess the effectiveness of current regulations and make recommendations for improvements.
Stakeholders believe a number of crucial challenges could be addressed in the regulatory update, including player deposit limits and IP blocking efforts.
Q2 stakes decline compared to Q1
For Q1, total gambling stakes, excluding lotteries, amounted to €3.51 billion. Of this, €2.18 billion was attributed to sports betting, split €1.59 billion across online betting and €585 million retail sportsbooks. Up to €25 million was attributed to betting on horseracing.
Virtual slot games drew €1.1 billion worth of wagers during the first quarter. A further €204 million was bet on internet poker.
As for the second quarter, total gambling and betting revenue amounted to €3.22 billion, an 8.3% drop from Q1.
Sports betting wagers topped €1.89 billion, some 13.5% behind Q1. Online bets were down by 12.7%, while retail sportsbook spend fell 15.6% to €494 million. Horseracing climbed 28% to €32 million.
In terms of other activity, virtual slots wagers were up by 1.6% to €1.12 billion. Online poker spend declined 9.8%
Germany lottery stakes level top €377 million in Q1
Separately, the GGL revealed data on cross-border lotteries in Germany, with total spend in Q1 at €377 million.
This comprised €315 million from social lotteries and €61 million class lotteries.
For Q2, lottery spend amounted to €371 million, just 1.6% behind the first-quarter total.
Social lottery wagers were down 0.6% quarter-on-quarter to €313 million. Meanwhile, class lotteries spend fell 4.9% to €58 million.
In addition, the GGL noted €243 million in commercial gaming brokerage for the first quarter. This was only marginally lower at €240 million for Q2.
The GGL says it aims to promote “greater transparency” through regular data updates. Total spend on gambling in Germany was higher in Q1 than during Q2.