German gambling regulator names Udo Götze as new chairman

The German gambling regulator (GGL) will replace chairman Jörg Sibbel with Udo Götze from 1 July.

This change adheres to the rules of the Fourth State Treaty on Gambling, which states the chairmanship of the body changes every 12 months, with the new chair being chosen based on the alphabetical order of the 16 federal states.

Schleswig-Holstein’s Sibbel will hand over to next on the list Thuringia, where Götze is the current state secretary in the Ministry of the Interior and Municipal Affairs.

Commenting on his time as chairman, Sibbel said: “The role of chairman of the board of directors fell into the transitional phase of responsibility for the regulation of the cross-border gaming market from the so-called gaming board of the states to the now uniform responsibility of the GGL. 

“I see them in a good position to be able to carry out the tasks assigned to them when issuing permits and combating illegal gambling offers on the internet, which is already clearly evident in the ongoing implementation. The colleagues in the GGL have the fullest trust of all sponsoring countries.”

Future chairman Götze added: “All 16 countries support the GGL with conviction. Regulating the transnational gambling market in Germany is a challenging task. The GGL can also be sure of the support of the sponsoring states under the chairmanship of the state of Thuringia.”

Alongside Götze’s arrival on 1 July, the GGL announced it will make it even easier for players to recognise legal gambling offers by issuing providers with a licence in Germany with a “GGL seal of test and approval”.

GGL board member Benjamin Schwanke explained: “Anyone who wants to play safely and legally should check the official whitelist on the GGL website. A reference to the permit must be placed on the homepage of legal gambling providers. The easier it is to determine whether it is legal online gambling, the better. If there is no indication, the offer is illegal.”