Sandro Kirchner takes the helm of German gambling regulator GGL

Kirchner takes over from Reiner Moser with immediate effect.

Germany.- The German gambling regulator, the GGL, has named Sandro Kirchner as its new chairman with immediate effect. The secretary for state for the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior for Sport and Integration takes over from Reiner Moser, head of office at the Ministry of the Interior for Digitalisation and Municipalities for Baden-Württemberg.

The chairmanship of the German regulator changes every year on July 1, with the role passing through members of the board in alphabetical order. The latest handover comes four years after Germany implemented the Fourth Interstate Gambling Treaty in 2021, introducing regulated online gaming in the country. 

Moser, who will now serve as the GGL’s head of department, said: “The online gambling market has developed rapidly in recent years. The GGL has met the resulting challenges with commitment and can already demonstrate notable results both in combating illegal gambling and in regulating and supervising the legal market.”

During his tenure, Moser championed digital innovation, drawing on his experience at Bavaria’s Ministry of the Interior to implement technology-driven oversight tools. The regulator has been enhancing its digital advertising surveillance and is pushing for legislation to allow IP-based blocking. It’s also welcomed Google’s decision to only allow ads from licensed operators in the country.

Kirchner said that continuing the GGL’s enforcement action against unlicensed gambling would be one of his main priorities.

“The work of the GGL must continue to be significantly geared towards ensuring that the business model of illegal gambling is not profitable in Germany,” he said. “With regard to his role as chairman of the Board of Directors, I look forward to continuing the successful work of everyone involved over the past four years. We will continue to face many challenges. However, I believe the GGL is well positioned to meet them.”

This week, the GGL published its 2024 Activity Report on the German gambling market. The regulator’s figures show that gross gambling revenue from the licensed market in 2024 was up by 5 per cent year on year at €14.4bn. That compares to growth of 2 per cent in the previous year. Tax and levies on gambling totalled €7bn, compared to €6.6bn in 2023.

The GGL highlighted its work to tackle unlicensed gambling. It says it reviewed over 1,700 websites and launched 231 prohibition proceedings in 2024. That compares to 133 cases in 2023. However, licensed operators continue to question the regulator’s data, pointing to a survey that suggested that black maket operators could represent as much as 50 per cent of the German gambling market.

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