Online gambling in Germany: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Germany?

The GlüStV 2021 took effect on 1 July 2021 and the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) became the single national regulator on 1 January 2023. Private operators can obtain nationwide permits for sports betting, virtual slots and online poker; online table games are licensed state by state, so far only in Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria. The regime is strict: €1 per spin on slots (conditionally €3 or €5 from July 2026), a €1,000 default cross-operator monthly deposit limit, five-second spins, no jackpots, and a 5.3% tax on stakes rather than GGR. The statutory evaluation of the treaty is due by 31 December 2026.

Regulated: Private operators can hold a local licence for online casino and/or betting.

Who regulates gambling in Germany?

• Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) — Joint authority of the 16 states: issues nationwide permits for sports betting, virtual slots and online poker, supervises licensees, publishes the whitelist and enforces against illegal offers through blocking and payment bans
• State gambling authorities (Länder) — Each state decides whether to run online casino table games itself or grant a limited number of concessions, and licenses land-based casinos, arcades and lotteries

Germany gambling licence: how it works

Permits for sports betting, virtual slot games and online poker are issued by the GGL with effect for all 16 states (§§ 4a–4c GlüStV 2021). An applicant needs a seat in the EU or EEA, proven reliability and transparent ownership, sufficient own funds, and security, social and economic concepts written in German. Before issue the operator lodges a bank guarantee of at least €5 million, which the GGL can raise to one month's expected stakes up to €50 million. Each slot game and poker variant is approved individually; a first permit runs five years and later permits seven. Online table games sit outside the GGL route: a state may run them itself or award at most as many concessions as it had land-based casino licences on 17 January 2020. Every permitted domain appears on the GGL whitelist.

What an applicant needs

• Company seated in an EU or EEA state with transparent ownership and reliable directors
• Security, social and economic viability concepts in German, reviewed by an expert at the applicant's cost
• Bank guarantee of at least €5 million, adjustable up to €50 million
• Connection to LUGAS (cross-operator limit file) and OASIS (national self-exclusion register)
• Individual approval of each slot game or poker variant with the stake limit and five-second spin built in
• Separate accounts per vertical, no parallel play, payouts only to the verified deposit route
• IT security concept and game-record storage accessible to the GGL

Gambling taxes in Germany

• Operators: 5.3% of stakes on virtual slot games and online poker, and 5.3% of stakes on sports betting, under the Race Betting and Lottery Act, plus corporate income and trade tax. Because the base is turnover, the effective burden on GGR is far higher for high-RTP slots.
• Players: None on winnings from licensed games.
• Also: State-licensed online table games are taxed under state rules. The tax-on-stakes model is a central issue in the 2026 evaluation; an ifo/DICE study in 2024 estimated channeling for virtual slots at roughly half.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Permitted with limits (§ 5 GlüStV 2021): no advertising for virtual slots, poker or online casino on TV, radio or the internet between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., no targeting of minors or vulnerable groups, no messaging that presents gambling as a solution to financial problems, and no promotion of unlicensed offers. Affiliates may only promote whitelisted operators.

Responsible gaming

OASIS self-exclusion and LUGAS deposit checks before play; €1,000 default cross-operator monthly deposit limit, higher only after affordability checks; €1 maximum stake per spin, with a tiered increase to €3 and then €5 from 1 July 2026 for players aged 21 and over who pass a 90-day monitoring period (temporary until 31 December 2027); five-second spins, no autoplay, no jackpots, panic button and a mandatory pause between verticals.

Identity and age verification

Age 18 and over. Identity and age verification before the first deposit against official documents or qualified electronic procedures; one account per person, matched to LUGAS.

Payments

Bank transfer, instant bank payments, debit cards and e-wallets are common; credit for gambling is prohibited and deposits must come from an account in the player's name. Licensed operators do not accept cryptoassets. The GGL blocked payments to illegal sites in 178 cases in 2025.

Notable restrictions

• €1 stake per spin on virtual slots (conditional €3 or €5 tiers from July 2026)
• €1,000 default cross-operator monthly deposit limit via LUGAS
• No jackpots, autoplay or live casino under the nationwide slot permit
• Online table games only under state concessions or state operators
• No parallel play across sportsbook, slots and poker
• Advertising ban for online slots, poker and casino between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Germany iGaming market: size, players and payments

The GGL's 2025 activity report puts legal gambling GGR at €14.4 billion, stable year on year, with €3.5 billion online and €3.9 billion from operators under GGL supervision. A GGL-commissioned study estimated the illegal online market at €547 million GGR in 2024, implying 77% channeling overall.

Lotteries remain the largest product at €5.4 billion GGR in 2025; the 2024 study found unregulated offers took 23% of online gambling by value, with virtual slots the weakest segment.

Licensed operators report that most sports betting and slot play is on mobile; apps must run the same LUGAS and OASIS checks as web.

The GGL whitelist listed several dozen permitted sports betting, slot and poker operators in 2026, including Tipico, bet365, bwin and Interwetten; only a handful of poker permits exist, and online table games are live only through Bavaria's state operator.

Timeline: how Germany got here

1. 2020-10First nationwide sports betting permits issued under the transitional regime
2. 2021-07GlüStV 2021 takes effect: virtual slots and online poker become licensable; 5.3% stake tax introduced
3. 2023-01GGL assumes full responsibility for nationwide permits and enforcement
4. 2024-09Schleswig-Holstein awards four private online casino table game concessions
5. 2025GGL shifts from licensing to systematic supervision; 1,843 illegal sites blocked or inaccessible by year end
6. 2026-07Tiered stake limit of up to €5 on virtual slots takes effect for qualifying players, limited until end 2027
7. 2026-12Statutory evaluation report on the GlüStV 2021 due

Outlook

The evaluation report due by 31 December 2026 will assess channeling, LUGAS and OASIS, the deposit and stake limits and the tax-on-stakes model, and could shape amendments to the treaty. The GGL is preparing the next permit cycle from 2027 as first-wave permits expire, more states are expected to decide on online table game models, and enforcement is widening to payment and marketing intermediaries. Litigation over refunds of historical losses from unlicensed operators remains a material risk for the sector.

Launching in Germany with GameBridge

Turnkey (your licence, our platform). GGL permits are issued to the operator, not the platform, so a German brand runs on GameBridge under the operator's own permit; GameBridge holds no German permit and offers no licence route for Germany.

A German deployment uses German as the site language, a euro wallet and geo-controls that admit German residents only after identity verification. The platform enforces the treaty's product rules at configuration level: €1 default stake per spin with the optional 21-plus tiers, five-second spins, no autoplay or jackpots, separate wallets per vertical and the mandatory pause between them. LUGAS and OASIS lookups run before deposits and logins, advertising windows are enforced in the CRM, and each slot version ships with the documentation a German test house needs. Table games and live casino stay disabled unless the operator holds a state concession.

• German site language and euro wallet
• Stake, spin-speed, autoplay and jackpot rules enforced per game configuration
• LUGAS and OASIS integration points for deposit and login checks
• Vertical separation with cooling-off and per-vertical wallets
• Advertising time-window controls in the CRM and bonus engine
• Certification package for every GameBridge Studios and Originals version

German lobbies are slot-led within the €1 stake rule, so pacing and volatility matter more than jackpots; the aggregated catalog is curated to studios with German-approved versions, GameBridge Studios builds exclusives to the GGL game specification, and the sportsbook module covers the Bundesliga-driven calendar.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• GGL veröffentlicht Tätigkeitsbericht 2025 — Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, accessed 2026-09-11
• FAQ Einzahlungslimit und Höchsteinsatz — Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, accessed 2026-09-11
• Online-Poker und virtuelles Automatenspiel: Erlaubnis — Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, accessed 2026-09-11
• FAQ Was sind legale Online Casinos in Deutschland — Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, accessed 2026-09-11
• GlüStV 2021 § 9a Ländereinheitliche Verfahren (fees) and § 4c (permit terms) — Bayerische Staatskanzlei, accessed 2026-09-11
• GlüStV-Evaluierung 2026: So prüfen die Länder die Glücksspielregulierung — GlücksWirtschaft, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.