Germany's gambling watchdog issues a strong warning against the practice of social betting.

Germany's gambling regulator, the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), has issued a strong warning against getting involved in social betting activities, which they say are becoming more prevalent. The GGL even identified specific platforms that they believe infringe upon local laws, specifically naming Polymarket. According to the regulator, this platform is not authorized in Germany and is deemed illegal under German law.

The regulator has raised alarms over the rising trend of social betting, both on local and international scales, with some enthusiasts even wagering on the outcome of the Ukrainian war. The GGL cautioned that these social betting platforms are increasingly vulnerable to manipulation and should therefore be completely avoided. Their website sternly clarifies: Because of the high risk of manipulation, these bets cannot be approved as per Section 3 Paragraph 1, Sentence 4 and Section 4 Paragraph 5 of the 2021 State Treaty on Gambling. The law only allows bets on clearly defined sports events with verifiable outcomes and explicit rules. Despite these cautions, prediction markets argue vehemently that they're not gambling in any shape or form. In the United States, many prediction platforms have managed to fend off such legal hurdles, but things are different in Europe. In France, they've been successfully expelled, while Germany is now adopting a firmer stance against them.