Germany’s gambling regulator has opened a formal review into ADI Predictstreet’s World Cup advertising, as European scrutiny of prediction markets intensifies during the tournament. Federal regulator, the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, is examining whether advertising by ADI Predictstreet breaches German gambling rules because the operator does not hold a local licence.
The Abu Dhabi-backed prediction market operator was granted a betting intermediary licence in Gibraltar in April. It was later named FIFA’s official prediction market partner for the 2026 World Cup. The regulator’s review focuses on ADI Predictstreet branding appearing on pitch-side advertising boards during World Cup broadcasts. The branding has been visible to German viewers despite the company not being licensed to offer or advertise gambling products in Germany.
The GGL is also assessing whether German residents are able to access and participate in ADI Predictstreet’s product. If the regulator determines that German gambling law has been breached, potential measures could include cease-and-desist orders against the operator or related service providers, including payment processors, web hosting companies and telecommunications firms.
The issue is complicated by the structure of global sports sponsorship. ADI Predictstreet denies targeting Germany directly, stating that visibility results from global sponsorship and media rights arrangements rather than Germany-specific promotion.
The investigation highlights the regulatory difficulty created when global sports sponsorships collide with national gambling advertising rules. A brand may not be targeting a specific country directly, but television and streaming broadcasts can still deliver exposure into markets where the operator lacks a local licence.
Germany treats prediction market activity as gambling and does not permit operators without a local licence to offer or advertise such products. Other European regulators, including Spain, France and the Netherlands, have already taken blocking action against platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi.
Gibraltar is currently the main European jurisdiction to have licensed a prediction market operator, creating a divergence between countries seeking to explore the vertical and larger regulated markets treating it as unlicensed gambling.
For FIFA and its commercial partners, the German review raises a difficult question over how global sponsorship categories are managed when the underlying product is restricted in some broadcast markets. For regulators, ADI Predictstreet is an early test case for whether prediction market advertising can be controlled during a global event watched across multiple jurisdictions.
