The 16 state lottery companies in the Deutscher Lotto- und Totoblock (DLTB) have renewed their long-standing cooperation with the Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG, formerly BZgA) for another three years, securing funding for Germany’s independent, free gambling addiction prevention and counseling services through the end of 2028. Following intensive negotiations, seven associations and operators from across the German gambling sector signed the new cooperation agreement. Roughly one third of the nationwide prevention costs will be covered by the DLTB and one third by Automaten-Wirtschaftsverbände-Info GmbH, with the remaining third shared by the associations representing private casinos, state casinos, sports betting operators, online casinos, and the German Lottery Association.
DLTB representatives emphasized that responsible gaming and player protection have been core to the state lottery mission for more than 75 years, with DLTB funding BIÖG’s prevention work for over a decade and welcoming the growing financial participation of other gambling providers since 2022. The three-year term provides planning certainty, particularly in the context of the more liberal 2021 State Treaty on Gambling and its 2026 evaluation, and is seen as a model for a “cause-based” funding approach in which all market participants contribute appropriately. Under the agreement, BIÖG will continue to operate its nationwide free helpline (0800 137 27 00) and the online portal check-dein-spiel.de, offering self-tests, education tools, and targeted information to support gambling harm prevention across Germany.
