By Illegal gambling crimes nearly tripled in 2023 compared to the previous year. This is what emerges from the reading of the latest report of the German Criminal Police, published on 9 April by the Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD), by the Minister of the Interior of Brandenburg and current President of the Conference of Ministers of the Interior, Michael Stübgen (CDU), and by the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch.
– A total of 5.940.667 crimes were recorded, which corresponds to an increase of 5,5% compared to 2022. The growth rate, equal to 58,4%, was approximately 1% higher than in the year previous.
– A significant increase in crimes is observed in the healthcare sector unauthorized gambling . Authorities have documented 5.281 cases. This corresponds to an increase of almost three times compared to 2022 (+183,8%). A comparison with previous years paints an even clearer picture, as the German operators’ association VDAI says in a note. From 2020 to 2023, the number of recorded cases of illegal gambling increased approximately sevenfold (+593%) and increased tenfold compared to 2016 and 2017. The growth rate for illegal gambling is 97,3%.
– The group of crimes “theft from/of vending machines” includes not only limited-win (AwP) gaming machines, casino gaming machines and all vending machines for goods and services (such as cigarette, drink and snack machines), but also theft from/from vending machines of money. In 2023, a total of 11.226 thefts from/on vending machines were recorded in all locations, of which 1.011 cases of “simple theft” and 10.215 cases of “aggravated theft”. Compared to 2022, there has been one significant decrease of 8.569 cases (-43,3%). This is a decrease of 610 cases (-37,6%) of “simple theft” and of 7.959 cases (-43,8%) of “aggravated theft”. However, the ratio to the pre-COVID year also shows a decrease of 1.543 cases (-12,1 percent).
– The number of arcade robberies it fell to 187 in 2023 (-13%). This shows that the decreasing trend which began in 2017 (591 cases) is continuing on this trend.
