German rapper faces €250,000 gambling fine

Capital Bra was served a penalty notice at a concert after promoting blacklist casino sites in Germany.

In an interesting display of force, Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), the German gambling regulator, crashed a concert to serve a six-figure fine. 

The GGL gatecrashed a Capital Bra concert and served a €250,000 penalty notice to the controversial rapper. He is accused of promoting illegal casinos through banner ads on live streams, as well as hosting his own casino review site. 

The notice was served during his concert at Euro Palace in Wiesbaden.

He is one of Germany's most successful musicians, with a record 13 number one hits in a year in 2018.

"Influencers can expect legal action"

His Twitch channel promotes his site capibonus.com, which promotes online casinos not on the GGL's list of approved operators. 

“We won’t shy away from even well-known names. Anyone who advertises illegal gambling must expect consistent legal action,” said Ronald Benter, the CEO of the GGL. “Influencers and streamers frequently present virtual slot machines and online casino games in livestreams and videos, which may be manipulated or unrealistically portrayed. This can create the impression among viewers that exceptionally high winnings are always within reach.”

This is one of many recent stories where influencers have come under fire for promoting gambling. Earlier this year, Dutch regulators banned influencers from promoting gambling and last year, two Finnish influencers were fined for promoting gambling.