Bremen’s Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer is taking action against providers of sports betting.

Interior Senator Ulrich Mäurer (SPD) wants to close all stationary betting shops in the Hanseatic city.

The switching centers, as the offices are officially called, are franchise companies of large sports betting operators such as Tipico or Happybet, which are legally allowed to offer sports betting in Germany.

However, according to a Bremen law, the operators of the branches are obliged to explain where the money for their business foundation comes from.

The documents have so far not been submitted by a single operator, according to the interior authority.

According to Mäurer, the regulation is about preventing money laundering. According to a risk analysis by the federal government, the gaming sector is particularly susceptible to this.

Last year, DER SPIEGEL revealed how the Tipico company neglected to monitor its business partners on site.

Some of the branches were controlled by criminals, including a betting cheater and a suspected drug dealer. Specifically affected by the closure are 24 betting shops that were previously tolerated but now have to submit documents.

Mäurer explains that an approval was also rejected for eight planned additional acceptance points.

The opening of such offices costs up to 120,000 euros, depending on the betting operator.

The operators have now received a closure order with an official hearing, it said.

They would have until the beginning of August to explain where their money came from.

From now on, however, the brokerage of bets represents the brokerage of illegal gambling. If the offices do not close voluntarily, this will be “enforced by police means,” says Mäurer.

However, Mäurer does not expect the bookmakers to back down.

Rather, they would probably go to court.

The initiative is “new legal territory”.

The law was only changed last year.

In the other federal states, it is usually sufficient to present a certificate of good conduct in order to be allowed to operate a betting shop.

Dispute over advertising ban for sports betting.

The Bremen action is part of a strategy with which the pugnacious bricklayer is taking action against the rampant gambling industry.

Among other things, the SPD politician spoke out in favor of a general ban on sports betting advertising.

This suggests, primarily to young men interested in sports, that betting is a natural part of football, he criticized.

According to the senator, the message is that those who know the game have higher chances of winning.

In fact, quite a few players ruined themselves and often their families as well.

The Hessian Interior Minister Peter Beuth, on the other hand, whose state is responsible for approving sports betting organizers, described Mäurer’s initiative at the summer festival of the German Sports Betting Association as “big cheese”.

Unlike Mäurer, the CDU politician has a great understanding of the industry.