Germany Online Gambling Law 2026

What Is Licensed

Germany’s Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV 2021) legalised virtual slots and online poker under federal licences and kept sports betting licensed. The Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) licenses and supervises these products and publishes an official whitelist. Online table games such as roulette and blackjack are a matter for the individual federal states.

Limits for Players

Players at licensed operators must set a monthly deposit limit that applies across all licensed operators — €1,000 by default, with higher limits only after affordability checks. The LUGAS system links operators so the limit can be checked across providers and parallel play is prevented. The statutory slot stake is €1 per spin; since July 2026 approved operators may offer up to €3 to players aged 21 or over and up to €5 to players with no signs of problematic gambling in the previous 90 days. Details are in our Germany slot stake limit guide. The OASIS register lets players exclude themselves from all licensed gambling.

Enforcement Against the Illegal Market

Advertising and sponsorship for unlicensed gambling are prohibited under Section 5(7) of the GlüStV 2021, with administrative fines of up to €500,000 per breach. The GGL has issued more than 30 payment-blocking orders to payment service providers and cease-and-desist orders against affiliates promoting illegal gambling. Its use of IP blocking was limited by a Federal Administrative Court ruling in 2025, so it relies mainly on host-based measures and payment blocking.

Refund Claims After the CJEU Ruling

Thousands of German players have sued unlicensed operators to recover losses, and lower courts had been split. On 16 April 2026, in case C-440/23, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that a member state may restrict cross-border online gambling even if the operator is licensed elsewhere in the EU, that EU law does not prevent national courts from declaring such contracts void, and that actions to recover losses are a matter for national law. German courts now apply that guidance case by case.

Crypto

The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) applies: crypto-asset service providers need authorisation from a national regulator, and the transitional periods for firms operating under older national rules ended by 1 July 2026 at the latest. In Germany, BaFin authorises crypto-asset service providers. For how stablecoin transfers work, see our USDT TRC20 explainer.

Our Position and Help

For players in Germany, Cocktailspins covers the law and the licensed market only; we do not promote operators that are not licensed in Germany. The BZgA helpline offers free advice on 0800 1 37 27 00, and our Responsible Gambling Score explains what good player protection looks like.

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