Millions of Germans addicted to gambling or at risk - report

Around 4.6 million adults in Germany are addicted to gambling or are showing the first symptoms of it, according to a report presented by Drug Commissioner Burkhard Blienert on Monday.

According to the report, around 1.3 million people suffer from a gambling disorder.

A further 3.3 million people show risky gambling behaviour with the first signs of addiction - such as withdrawal-like symptoms when not gambling or returning to gambling the next day to make up for losses.

The Gambling Atlas, published by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research in Hamburg, the German Centre for Addiction Issues in Hamm and the Gambling Research Department at the University of Bremen, provides a basic overview of gambling in Germany.

It summarizes existing data, and provides information on legal regulations, turnover in the industry and topics such as addiction and prevention. The data on gambling addiction is based on a survey from 2021.

The gross gaming revenue of the gambling industry - i.e. the revenue received after deducting the winnings paid out - totalled €13.4 billion ($14.3 billion) last year.

The revenue was largest in the area of gaming machines (€4.8 billion), followed by lottery (€4.1 billion). There has been strong growth in sports betting since its legalization in autumn 2020 (€1.4 billion).

According to the report, the state collected €5.2 billion in taxes from legal gambling in 2022.