Delve into the intricacies of German gambling laws with our guide designed to simplify complex legal jargon into easy-to-understand knowledge for all.
Germany has a well-serviced and popular online gambling industry. Recent data shows that more than half of the adult population have gambled at least once in the last year.
This article is created by Kirsty Caldwell, a regulatory gambling compliance expert. Her proficiency and knack for demystifying complicated legal language make this guide a smooth read.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Read on to find out more.
You will not be surprised to read that regulation is somewhat complex with both national and regional laws plus licensing that depends on the type of gambling product being provided.
You can only take part lawfully in certain types of gambling and the operators must be licensed.
German gambling law has undergone significant changes in recent times with a new approach starting at the beginning of 2023 which has led to both a centralised and regional approach to regulation and tighter restrictions on various aspects of gambling.
The national minimum age limit for gambling is 18 years. However, the regions of Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg require casino players to be at least 21.
Yes,it is. But since there are both national and regional laws, there are things that you need to know to make sure you keep safe and have fun.
Germany’s national laws are the baseline but regional legislation takes precedence over state laws if they are stricter.
The Interstate Treaty on Gambling is the main central legislation for gambling in Germany. It is an agreement made in 2021 by the heads of all German states and must be converted into state law by the various parliaments via their own Acts.
This means that each state can then add local restrictions which place more limits or requirements on licensed gambling operators if they choose to.
The Treaty is overseen by the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) or “Joint Gambling Authority of the States” which provides information on all aspects of gambling including anti-money laundering law, player protection and commercial regulation.
A centralised list of licensed companies can be found on the GGL website.
How is Gambling Regulated?
In German casinos, sports betting, horse race betting, online slots and poker are licensed at the national level but online casino games products other than online slots and poker may be permitted by an individual state or groups of states.
There is a state monopoly for lotteries (including Bingo) and some states only allow online casino games to be provided under state monopoly whereas other states allow operators to apply for licenses.
As you would want to be the case, any form of cheating, match-fixing or collaboration with another player to defraud a gambling company or someone else who is gambling is illegal and subject to criminal sanction and fines or imprisonment.
The length of the sanctions varies by region.
For companies that provide gambling services without a licence or illegally advertise gambling, the penalties can range from 2 to 5 years or fines.
For individuals, if you gamble using an unlicensed product you can be imprisoned for up to 6 months or receive a fine.
It is a requirement of all licenses from both the national and regional licensing bodies that the consumer must be informed of the licenses held by the company.
How to check
For websites, a new requirement at the start of July, 2023 means that a “seal” with a link to the list of licensed companies on the GGL website should be displayed.
As the regulatory approach is quite complicated, the easiest way to work out if you are playing with a legal company online is to first check the list of licensed organisations via the GGL website.
Then you can check the company’s website to see who they say they are licensed by and what they are licensed for.
Each company must have a link to their various licenses and regulators and so you will be able to see what the situation is.
Be aware
The national regulator, GGL has also started obtaining blocking orders against unlicensed gambling operators’ websites and orders preventing payment companies from allowing deposits and withdrawals to and from unlicensed companies.
You will need to register an account by providing your personal information, including:
- first name;
- surname;
- birth name;
- date of birth;
- place of birth;
- place of residence.
This information will be verified by the casino and you will be asked regularly to confirm that the information is still correct.
Gambling Blocks and Restriction
Thankfully, German law permits the blocking of unlicensed gambling websites.
So, when the authorities become aware of their illegal operation they can go through the process to prevent consumers from accessing the unlicensed websites.
Also, Germany has successfully applied for blocking of payment solutions where the appropriate licenses have not been in place. Both gambling operators and payment solution providers are required to verify that the person using a payment method has the authority to do so.
Thus, you should expect a higher level of validation when depositing or withdrawing funds from your gambling account.
Cryptocurrency gambling is not yet specifically regulated in Germany and therefore it may be possible to use cryptocurrency to deposit funds into your gambling account.
Be aware
Because crypto is unregulated, you will not receive any help from gambling regulators if something goes wrong. Also, under standard AML/CFT law, any cryptocurrency transactions will be considered “high” risk and therefore subject to enhanced review by companies.
The main laws for gambling in Germany are:
There is a wide array of individual state Acts covering various aspects of both online and land-based gambling but they are too numerous to list here.
Recommendation
If you intend to use state-licensed gambling websites and want to know the exact detail for the state that regulates the website, please refer to the licence information on the website for where to look.
All licensed websites must tell you where they are licensed and provide a link to the regulator’s website.
There is a mixture of national and territorial state regulators involved in the gambling market in Germany as reflected in the relatively complicated licensing environment.
Things changed at the beginning of 2023 with the new national online regulator, the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), taking over as the national online regulator.
However, each state also has its own regulator for various aspects of the gambling industry and the full list can be found on the Interior and Sport Ministry website.
Pro tip
If you need to contact a regulator, check which one is relevant for the type of issue you have by checking the gambling company’s website.
They have to make it clear to you which products or services are regulated by which organisation, but hopefully, you should not need to do so.
Dealing with Criminal Activity
Recently, the regulators have been more active with checking companies are adhering to the rules, particularly for payment processing and advertising and have won a number of court cases and imposed fines.
That being the case, you may see stricter checks and requests for validation of the information you need to provide when using licensed gambling operators.
As criminals can see gambling as a way of laundering their illegal proceeds, this is actually a good thing as it helps keep crime out of gambling.
This means you are less likely to encounter match-fixing and other false behaviour. Therefore, the gambling environment you play in will be more reliable.
German law requires a number of protection measures to be available to players including default limits and proactive activity information being presented regularly to the player.
Maximum Deposits Allowed
The regulations include countrywide limitations on the amount of gambling activity that players are allowed take part in including a default €1,000 limit on deposits upon account registration which is across all of your accounts at all companies (except weekly lotteries).
This activity is managed by the centrally administered system called “LUGAS”.
You must also be given the opportunity to set daily, weekly and monthly deposit or loss limits. If you want to increase a previously set limit you will have to wait for 7 days.
Any decrease is immediate.
Players must be informed every 24 hours of their accumulated winnings, losses and deposits for the previous 30 days.
Reality check messages must be presented to players after 60 minutes of gambling and a system to prevent “parallel gambling” (that is, gambling on multiple sites at the same time) is in place.
Be aware
When gambling on slots, the maximum stake allowed by regulation is €1.
Players must be presented with information about the dangers of excessive play, pathological gaming and the protection of minors.
After 60 minutes of continuous activity, the player must take a 5-minute break.
Also, if the player moves from gambling in one area of a website to another, they must wait for one minute and be presented with counselling options before gambling again in the new area.
Please consider
There is a centrally administered self-exclusion register, or “player blocking system” called OASIS which allows a player to register exclusion from all licensed gambling in Germany.
Providing Help and Support for Gambling Problems
Gambling companies must proactively review their customers’ gambling activity and try to identify where gambling harm may be happening.
This is to protect players from negative impacts of gambling more than is safe or affordable.
In addition, gambling companies must provide contact details of gambling harm support organisations which can provide:
- telephone help;
- group therapy;
- other support practices for customers that are having problems managing their amount of gambling activity.
There are a number of supporting organisations for players who may want help their gambling activity as listed below.
- Fachverbandes Glücksspielsucht e.V (Gambling Addiction Association)
- Anonymen Spielern (Gamers Anonymous)
- Die Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (Federal Centre for Health Education)
Germany has some of the most proactive requirements for limiting the player’s ability to gamble and also for presenting information about how much time and money you have spent gambling.
When you register with a licensed gambling company it must verify that you are who you claim to be, it must also ensure that you are provided with easy-to-find and understand information about all aspects of the licence conditions, the account controls you can use and the support services that are available to you.
The gambling company will use their systems to complete checks for both identity and your ongoing gameplay. They are required to do so under the regulations.
Pro tip
The regulators ensure that licensed companies are operating within the rules and that you are made fully aware of what systems are in place to protect you.
However, as with all things, please make sure you read the terms and conditions and policies of any gambling company that you engage with to make sure you are happy with any benefits and restrictions provided.
All licensed gambling companies have a duty of care towards you. This means they must monitor how you play and assess whether you might be at risk of being harmed through gambling.
You should expect regular checks on your gambling activity and questions about whether you are comfortable with the amount of money and time that you spend gambling.
Some players see these checks as intrusive and overly personal but they are a necessary way of making sure that players are provided with help and support when needed.
Any winnings on a gambling website licensed in Germany are not subject to personal tax as this is currently not included in any of the legislation.
However, if you are registered to pay tax in another country, local laws may require you to declare your winnings so you should check with the local authorities.
The application process in Germany is quite complex and varies depending on:
- What state the player is registered in;
- What type of gambling product is being offered;
- Whether that product is a nationally licensed product or state licensed.
Therefore, you may see that a gambling company holds licenses from both the national regulator and individual state regulators.
In this case, the regulations that you are under will depend on which territory you are in when you register and the products you use.
The application process includes requirements for the company to provide a lot of information about their organisation, how they will operate and how they are funded.
Each regulator reviews this information and only grants a licence if they believe that the information proves that the company is viable and will provide a safe and good service.
Fun fact
Licenses are normally granted for 10 years with an option for a 5 year extension.
Both national and state laws make all unlicensed gambling illegal for the operator. Therefore, you should check that the operator you are registered with does have a German licence.
Any company offering gambling products without the appropriate licence is breaking the law and the GGL has already taken legal action to block access to some unlicensed websites.
Also, any payment company doing business with an unlicensed gambling company can also face sanctions.
All the above means that you are much better protected and at far lower risk of having problems with a licensed company.
Recommendation
When problems do happen, you have support to try to rectify the situation easily and quickly. With an unlicensed company there is no one to help you should the company do something wrong.
Germany has very strict laws on the advertising of gambling, and there have been several court cases challenging the restrictions.
So far, the regulators have won the court cases.
Therefore all the restrictions are still in place, and it is sometimes the case that a company’s licence conditions include restrictions on what can and cannot be advertised.
Any advertising or marketing of gambling activities is subject to review by regulators who provide detailed guidance on what can be included and offered.
You should not expect a lot of special deals and offers from German licensed gambling companies as the scope for such is quite limited.
Closing thoughts
Choosing to gamble with an operator licensed in Germany is choosing a heavily regulated, legal and well-managed environment that can be fun and entertaining.
The regulators are very active in checking licensed operators and take action where they see something wrong.
Therefore, it is a good way to go if you like to thrill and excitement of online gambling.
Remember
Check that the gambling company is licensed and to gamble only the amount of money that you can afford to lose. Always check the laws and regulations of the country you want to play in.
Above all else, have fun and good luck!
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