Germany increasingly relies on data to oversee online gambling
Germany is strengthening its online gambling supervisory infrastructure. Germany’s federal gambling regulator (Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder – GGL) will continue working with Dataport to further develop LUGAS, the IT system already in use to support the regulation of the regulated market.
The announcement goes beyond a routine technology platform update. The expansion of LUGAS shows how online gambling supervision is becoming increasingly dependent on regulators’ ability to collect, manage, and analyse large volumes of data. As Germany’s legal market expands, regulators need effective tools to monitor operator activity and betting flows.
LUGAS at the centre of the supervisory system
LUGAS, an acronym for Länderübergreifendes Glücksspielaufsichtssystem, is one of the tools used by the GGL to verify compliance by operators licensed in Germany. The system includes several technical components and central databases linked to gambling activities. These include the so-called Safe Servers, through which operators provide the regulator with the data required under the applicable legislation.
According to the GGL, in 2025 the infrastructure processed information relating to more than 60 licensed operators and approximately 5 million registered players. These figures illustrate the scale of the system. Supervision of a market of this size cannot rely solely on manual checks, inspections, or occasional reports. It requires tools capable of organising information and making it available to the regulator in a stable and secure manner.
Cooperation with Dataport
Dataport will continue to provide the GGL with the technical support required for the operation and development of LUGAS. The company provides IT services to several German public administrations. Its role therefore concerns the infrastructure underpinning part of the gambling regulator’s supervisory activity.
This is not a secondary issue. Even a highly detailed regulatory framework risks being ineffective when the regulator does not have reliable systems for verifying operators’ conduct.
In online gambling, technological infrastructure is no longer merely an administrative tool. It has become a practical part of regulation. System stability, data quality, and the speed at which information can be accessed can directly affect the regulator’s ability to intervene.
From a simple database to data-driven supervision
One of the most significant aspects concerns the future use of the information stored on the Safe Servers. The GGL has stated that, from 2027, it intends to make broader use of this data as part of its supervisory activities. The key shift will therefore be from simply collecting information to analysing it.
Comprehensive and comparable data can help the regulatory authority verify operators’ compliance with their obligations, identify potential anomalies and carry out more targeted checks. This does not necessarily mean that every check will be automated. It does mean, however, that technology can provide GGL teams with a more robust information base on which to decide where and when to intervene. For operators, this development could mean greater control over the quality, completeness and timeliness of the data they submit.
Supervision of the legal market is not enough
The strengthening of LUGAS primarily concerns the licensed gambling sector. Within this system, licensed operators must comply with the technical and reporting obligations established under German law.
Illegal gambling in Germany nevertheless remains a central issue in the wider debate. A more advanced technological system can certainly support supervision of the regulated market. At the same time, however, it is not sufficient to block websites that do not hold a licence. Doing so would require targeted checks on platforms and action involving online payments.
The challenge will be to prevent the legal market from being subjected to increasingly stringent controls while part of the demand continues to be directed towards operators that do not comply with the same rules.
A model to watch beyond Germany
The development of LUGAS confirms a trend affecting the entire European online gambling sector. Regulatory authorities can no longer confine themselves to issuing licences and imposing sanctions only after a breach has already occurred. They must establish systems capable of monitoring the market, analysing data and taking action more promptly.
Germany is investing in precisely this direction. The strengthening of LUGAS is not simply an IT project, but a step towards a supervisory model in which technology and regulation are becoming increasingly difficult to separate.
This article was originally published on the Italian SiGMA News page on 21 July 2026.
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