German authorities have intensified their campaign against unlicensed online gambling after an investigation uncovered a suspected operation that processed approximately €5.86bn in wagers between July 2021 and the end of 2023.
The case, led by the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office, culminated in searches of 11 premises as part of a coordinated enforcement operation involving more than 100 officers. The Frankfurt Tax Office, North Rhine-Westphalia’s state financial crime authorities and Frankfurt police also participated.
Investigators identified five suspects believed to have been involved in operating an online casino without the licence required under German gambling law. At least one person was arrested and is also suspected of avoiding approximately €77.6m in tax payments.
Authorities secured several luxury vehicles and froze bank accounts, while assets worth approximately €82m were placed under a freezing order as investigators continue examining the financial structure behind the business.
The scale of the case has renewed debate over the true size of Germany’s illegal online gambling sector.
The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) welcomed the enforcement action but said €5.86bn in wagers linked to a single investigation covering roughly two and a half years raises questions about existing estimates of illegal gambling activity.
DSWV President Mathias Dahms argued that the size of the alleged operation should prompt policymakers and regulators to reassess whether current measurements accurately capture Germany’s black market. The association also stressed that unlicensed operators are outside Germany’s player-protection framework, allowing requirements such as deposit limits, self-exclusion controls and identity verification to be circumvented.
The issue remains contested. A study commissioned by Germany’s Joint Gambling Authority of the Länder (GGL) and published in March 2026 estimated that regulated operators accounted for 77.03% of Germany’s online gambling market, leaving 22.97% with illegal or unregulated providers.
Other industry estimates have presented a considerably weaker picture for specific products. H2 Gambling Capital previously estimated channelisation for licensed German online slots at only 22%-25%, highlighting the significant differences between methodologies and market segments used to assess illegal gambling.
The Frankfurt investigation also emerged as international authorities sharpen their focus on gambling-related financial crime.
On 9 September, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published its first detailed examination of risks connected with online and illegal gambling. Based on contributions from more than 80 jurisdictions, the organisation identified illegal gambling as one of the sector’s most significant financial-crime threats.
The FATF highlighted warning signs including gambling accounts funded by unrelated third parties, multiple accounts or identities, unusual payment patterns, rapid movement of funds, virtual assets and attempts to conceal beneficial ownership. It urged governments, regulators and gambling companies to strengthen information sharing and cross-border cooperation.
For Germany, the €5.86bn investigation now provides a major test of both enforcement capabilities and existing estimates of how much gambling activity remains outside the country’s regulated system.