Court ruling on GGL’s enforcement powers heads the agenda at Gaming in Germany in Berlin

The 2026 Gaming in Germany Conference has published its full agenda for its event in Berlin on Tuesday 10 November. A recent ruling by the Halle Administrative Court, which the organiser says calls into question the authority of Germany’s Joint Gambling Authority (GGL) to enforce the ban on unlicensed iGaming, is among the main topics.

What is on the agenda

• Treaty review: the outcome of the evaluation of the 2021 State Treaty on Gambling.
• New products: sweepstakes, esports betting, online casino in North Rhine-Westphalia and other market opportunities.
• Offshore competition: how the licensed industry can coordinate its response to the black market.
• Enforcement: whether the GGL may have lost its power to enforce the prohibition on unlicensed iGaming following the court ruling.

Selected speakers

• Nadja Wierzejewski, Head of Enforcement at the GGL, will give a keynote.
• Alexander Müller, Member of the Executive Board of the FDP, will speak on player protection, market realities and effective enforcement.
• Melanie Hainzer, Market Owner DACH at Play’n GO, will discuss the role of suppliers in building a sustainable German online gambling market.
• Dr Matthias Spitz of Melchers Law Firm and Dr Christian Rapani of Rapani Rechtsanwälte will ask whether prediction markets and sweepstakes are coming to Germany.
• Hans-Peter Kalenberg of the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of the Interior and Dr Carsten Bringmann of Noerr will cover online casino licensing and B2B opportunities in NRW, moderated by Dr Joerg Hofmann of Melchers Law Firm.

Willem van Oort, founder of Gaming in Germany, said:

“The German market is certainly not a boring one. On the one hand, there appears to be room for a significant expansion in the range of permitted products. On the other hand, a recent ruling by the Halle Administrative Court calls into question the GGL’s entire legal authority to enforce the prohibition against unlicensed iGaming in Germany. With all the key players in the German market present in Berlin, this year’s Gaming in Germany event will be THE place to discuss the way forward for Germany-licensed operators, suppliers, and other stakeholders. As always, our event will also focus on what the industry can do to keep the illegal market in check. In our current situation, this may be more important than ever.”

The conference takes place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Ku’damm in Berlin, and registration is open. For more on how regulators are tackling unlicensed operators, see our enforcement coverage.