Tipico unveils “Trusted Partner” scheme for suppliers
Move comes as part of operator’s pushback against the black market in Germany, with approved providers having committed not to support unlicensed businesses
Tipico has rolled out a certification campaign in Germany which will recognise suppliers that do not provide services to black market operators.
As part of an integrity drive led by the business, the initiative, which will label suppliers as a “Trusted Partner”, will initially be applied to game providers before expanding to payment firms and affiliates in the future.
Apparat, Games Global, Greentube, Hölle Games, Merkur, Play’n GO and ZEAL have signed up to the scheme at launch.
Those companies have committed to only supply their products in Germany to “licensed and reliable operators”.
In return, Tipico said its marketing activities would only feature game content from approved partners.
The Malta-headquartered operator said this would particularly apply to its ad efforts across TV, digital and CRM campaigns.
Tipico also said the scheme would help raise awareness among the public about the difference between the regulated and illegal markets.
The omnichannel operator said: “The aim of this initiative is to support game manufacturers who voluntarily commit to not supply anyone operating illegal gambling websites in Germany.
“Such black-market offerings bypass German regulatory requirements, provide no reliable player protection and evade taxes owed in Germany.”
Speaking at ICE in January, the online casino trade body, Deutscher Online Casinoverband, said channelisation for online slots could be as low as 20% in Germany.
Christian Heins, Tipico director of igaming, said: “We are very pleased that several major games manufacturers have fulfilled the requirements as ‘Trusted Partner’ at the start of our quality initiative already.
“Combating illegal offerings is essential for the successful channelisation into the legal and safe market, and we are convinced that this goal can only be achieved in the long term through a joint effort by all stakeholders.”
In the UK, the Betting and Gaming Council has said its supplier members, which also includes Games Global, as well as IGT and White Hat Gaming, had committed to not supporting illegal sites.