Only illegal casino’s reachable in regulated market during peak gambling moment in Germany – What happened

The LUGAS gambling control system suffered a major breakdown last Saturday. For almost 10 hours, the German gambling industry was paralysed.

The outage on 15 March began mid-morning, depriving land-based and online casinos of their access to the LUGAS system. Gaming operators quickly reported the problem, which lasted for almost 10 hours. The LUGAS system was accessible again late in the evening.

Many establishments, unable to meet their obligations without access to LUGAS, were forced to close.

Impact on operators and players

This interruption resulted in significant financial losses for casinos and online gaming platforms, which were unable to process transactions for several hours. Some players also expressed their frustration at the sudden suspension of service.

A regular player at a Berlin casino said:

‘I came for an evening with friends, but it was impossible to play. Everyone was baffled.’

For their part, the operators are wondering whether compensation measures will be put in place to offset the losses. The industry unions have already requested a meeting with the regulator to assess the consequences of this incident.

A boon for illegal platforms

In the middle of the Bundesliga weekend, players had no way of betting on legal sites. So they turned to illegal platforms.

The black market bookmakers had no problem welcoming these players, with no deposit limits, no player protection, no taxes – just smooth, uninterrupted service. And all this before the helpless gaze of the regulated platforms.

This is not the first time that the LUGAS system has broken down. For years, the legal sector has been calling for 24/7 technical support, to no avail.

How have the authorities reacted?

The German authorities have promised an in-depth investigation into the causes of the breakdown. Experts in cybersecurity and IT infrastructures have already been mobilised to analyse the origin of the problem.

‘We must ensure that this does not happen again. LUGAS is an essential tool for regulating gambling in Germany, and we will put in place the necessary measures to strengthen its reliability.’

Towards an improved LUGAS system?

This incident has reopened the debate on the reliability of digital control systems in the gambling sector. Some experts are calling for back-up systems to be put in place to avoid similar interruptions in the future.

It is likely that this breakdown will prompt the authorities to strengthen the infrastructure and reassess the LUGAS system. It remains to be seen what measures will be put in place to ensure better continuity of services and prevent future breakdowns.

What is the LUGAS system?

The LUGAS system, which stands for ‘Länderübergreifendes Glücksspielaufsichtssystem’ (Interstate Gambling Supervision System), is a centralised platform set up in Germany to regulate and monitor the online gambling market. Established under the State Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV 2021), its main objective is to protect players by ensuring compliance with the regulations in force.

LUGAS comprises two central databases:

• Activity control: This is designed to prevent players from playing games on several platforms at the same time, thereby limiting parallel play.
• Limit control: This ensures that the monthly deposit limit of €1,000 is respected, preventing players from registering on several platforms to circumvent the deposit limit.

To obtain a licence on the German market, online gambling operators must connect to LUGAS and transmit their customer data. This information is managed by the Joint Gaming Regulatory Authority of the Länder (GGL), which supervises and controls online gambling offers in order to prevent addictive behaviour.