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Majority of German games companies are actively committed to environmental and climate protection

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• About 80 per cent of German games companies place importance on protection of the climate and environment

• game becomes associate member of Playing for the Planet Alliance

• game association office works climate-neutrally

Environmental and climate protection play an important role in the games industry in Germany, as shown by the results of a current survey by game – the German Games Industry Association, which were presented today at the association’s general meeting. About 80 per cent of the games companies surveyed indicated that they place importance on protection of the environment and climate. Along with developers and publishers, these companies include many other actors in the games industry such as esports event organisers, educational establishments and service providers. Currently, 76 per cent of games industry companies are involved in projects to promote more sustainable business practices – for example, the reduction of energy consumption for power and heating, the use of green electricity and the separation of waste, among many further measures. Companies organise their ecological efforts in wide-ranging ways. Some designate small internal ‘green teams’ to develop and implement their environmental and climate protection measures, whereas others leave these measures directly in the hands of company management.

‘The games industry is aware of the enormous societal challenge posed by climate change, and we’re working in various ways to contribute to fighting its effects,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘This extends from more sustainable business practices in game development, to eco-friendly packaging concepts, to raising sensitivity for environmental and climate protection by making them themes in the games themselves. For game as an association, environmental and climate protection is a special concern. For this reason, we have thoroughly examined and optimised our work processes so that the association office is now working climate-neutrally itself. Sustainability and environmental protection are decisive issues for society as a whole, and we in the games industry are determined to make our contribution, now and in the future, through further projects and ideas.’

game joins Playing for the Planet Alliance

The game association has joined the Playing for the Planet Alliance as an associate member in order to further strengthen its public stance on environmental and climate protection. With its Letter of Commitment game commits itself among other things to measure its environmental impact on a yearly basis, to implement measures that will allow game to reach full climate neutrality in 2021, which has already been achieved, or to help members and games businesses understand how they can reduce their impact on the environment.

The Playing for the Planet Alliance was launched by a group of the world’s largest games companies in September 2019 during the UN Climate Summit and made possible by the UN Environment Programme. To become a member of the alliance, the applicant must commit itself to various initiatives ranging from CO2 reduction to reforestation projects and the avoidance of plastic.

For further information on the Playing for the Planet Alliance, please go to https://playing4theplanet.org/

About the survey data

The members of game – the German Games Industry Association are surveyed for game’s industry barometer. Our 330-plus members include game developers, publishers and many other games industry actors such as esports event organisers, educational establishments and service providers.

game – the German Games Industry Association

We are the association of the German games industry. Our members include developers, publishers and many other games industry actors such as esports event organisers, educational establishments and service providers. As a joint organiser of gamescom, we are responsible for the world’s biggest event for computer and video games. We are an expert partner for media and for political and social institutions, and answer questions relating to market development, games culture and media literacy. Our mission is to make Germany the best games location.

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Change of Chairmanship in the GGL Board of Directors as of 1 July 2025

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On the occasion of the four-year anniversary of the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) on 1 July 2025, Sandro Kirchner, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Integration, has taken over the chairmanship of the GGL Administrative Board, succeeding Reiner Moser, Head of Office in the Ministry of the Interior, for Digitalisation and Municipalities for Baden-Württemberg.

During Reiner Moser’s term as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the GGL further established itself as a reliable institution for the supervision and monitoring of the online gambling market.

“The online gambling market has developed rapidly in recent years. The GGL has met the resulting challenges with great commitment and can already demonstrate remarkable results both in combating illegal gambling and in regulating and supervising the legal market. The exchange between the states and the GGL is always trusting and results-oriented. I would like to sincerely thank the Board of Directors and all GGL employees for this constructive cooperation over the past year,” said Head of Department Moser.

State Secretary Kirchner takes over the chairmanship at a time when the GGL is pursuing ambitious goals, including stronger international networking, particularly to further curb the illegal gambling market.

“The consistent prosecution of illegal offerings and player protection are my highest 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,” said Sandro Kirchner.

With regard to his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors, he added: “I look forward to continuing the successful work of everyone involved over the past four years. We will certainly continue to face many challenges. However, I believe the GGL is well positioned to achieve this.”

The Board of Directors is the supervisory and steering body of the GGL. It consists of the heads of departments or state secretaries of the ministries responsible for gaming supervision in the 16 member states. The chair of the Board of Directors rotates annually on July 1st in alphabetical order of the member states.

The post Change of Chairmanship in the GGL Board of Directors as of 1 July 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Gaming in Germany Conference returns to Berlin November 11, 2025

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Gaming in Europe is pleased to announce that the 2025 Gaming in Germany Conference will take place on November 11, 2025, in Berlin.

The Gaming in Germany Conference is an annual event for everyone who is professionally involved in Germany’s regulated online gambling industry. The conference will cover topics such as regulatory developments, (black) market growth, player protection, marketing, compliance, and much more.

Confirmed speakers

Although the 2025 Gaming in Germany Conference is still some time away, we have already confirmed the following speakers:

  • Dr. Jörg Hofmann, Senior Partner, Melchers Law
  • Senior GGL representative
  • Mathias Dahms, President, DSWV
  • Dr. Dirk Quermann, President, DOCV
  • Christian Heins, Director iGaming, Tipico
  • Josh Hodgson, COO, H2 Gambling Capital

Don’t miss it. Save the date!

Willem van Oort, founder of Gaming in Germany said: “We are very happy that we have received commitments from major stakeholders in Germany’s regulated gambling market to speak at our event. As always, we aim to connect the industry with regulatory and social stakeholders, and vice versa. This year, major topics of discussion will be the true size of Germany’s regulated market, the increasing popularity of the black market, as well as the upcoming evaluation of the 2021 State Gambling Treaty. I am certain there will be plenty to discuss.”

Call for speakers

If you would like to share your insights, success story, innovation, or cautionary tale, please consider applying for a speaker slot at the 2025 Gaming in Germany Conference by sending an email to [email protected].

Your voice matters, and we can’t wait to hear from you!

The post Gaming in Germany Conference returns to Berlin November 11, 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Turnover of Legal Gambling Market in Hungary Increases

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The Regulated Activities Supervisory Authority (SZTFH) has announced that the turnover of the legal gambling market in Hungary has increased.

The SZTFH and its predecessor have been blocking illegal gambling websites since 2014, preventing them from being accessible to Hungarian players. Thanks to the more than two thousand blockings ordered so far in 2024 and 2025, the traffic and turnover of the legal market is sharply increasing compared to the total market, which can be considered a significant improvement compared to the illegal market presence in previous years.

One of the main goals of the SZTFH is to take action against websites offering illegal online gambling that are not licensed in Hungary and the prohibited advertising sites that promote them, and to whitewash the Hungarian online gambling market. In the past two years, several legislative changes have come into force that have resulted in the acceleration and extension of the blocking procedure to advertising and contributing sites, and have created the opportunity to track and immediately block illegal sites that are constantly jumping to new domain names every day in order to evade the authority’s measures. Thanks to the change in the legal environment and the intensive action of the Authority, the number of visits to illegal gambling sites has now decreased significantly.

In the case of services offered by organisers who are not licensed to organise gambling in Hungary, the Authority has no possibility to oblige the gambling organiser to comply with the guarantee rules protecting the interests of the players, and the claim for the payment of the prize cannot be enforced before a Hungarian court. Gambling organisers who are not licensed by the Authority also violate the interests of the Hungarian State in the economic activity of organising and operating gambling. In addition to the above, by not joining the player protection register kept by the Authority, which prevents players who have been excluded from gambling voluntarily or by a court from participating in gambling, they also constitute an obstacle to the effective enforcement of goals related to player protection.

The SZTFH is committed to the elimination of illegal gambling and the whitening and increasing the competitiveness of the Hungarian gambling market in order to protect the interests of Hungarian players, and therefore will continue its intensive blocking activities with great effort and the use of innovative solutions in the future. Players can find out about the gambling organizers licensed in Hungary and the illegal sites blocked by the Authority on the Authority’s website.

The post Turnover of Legal Gambling Market in Hungary Increases appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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