Online gambling law and regulation in Germany

Footnotes

[1] Betting is only permitted on horse racing and sports.

[2] Although already having been generally legal under the former regulation, under the current Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV) providers of sports betting can apply for a broader spectrum of online sports betting licences: The licence application process is managed by the joint gambling authority (“Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder” – GCL) in Halle (Saale).

[3] Certain forms of online poker are allowed. Other forms of online card games are only permissible on an individual State level. With the new GlüStV, licences for online poker are now available nationwide. In 2014 the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG 8 C 26/12) considered poker as a form of gambling (and not a game of skill) provided the participants are playing for money.  Accordingly, online poker is now considered as a type of gambling in the new GlüStV. GCL is responsible for online poker and is managing the licence application process.

[4] Gambling operators can apply for licences for virtual slot machines and/or online poker at the GCL. There is no national licensing process for online casinos (other than virtual slot machines and online poker) with each State deciding whether to grant licences to private operators or to have a state-owned or licensed monopoly. Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia and Hessen have implemented a licensing regime for online casino games with the exception of online slots and poker. Some other states, such as Saxony, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Thuringia and Baden-Wuerttemberg have decided to offer online casino games (other than slots and poker) under a state monopoly. Other states, e.g., Mecklenburg Western Pomerania and Berlin, have not yet decided whether, and if yes, in what form licences for online casino games will be granted.

[5] In principle, lotteries are subject to a state lottery monopoly. The only exceptions under the GlüStV are certain types of lotteries which the GlüStV deems to have a lower risk potential (so-called social lotteries, which do not serve an economic purpose and may only be organised by charitable organisations) or lotteries which can be classified as small according to certain criteria, for which the GlüStV provides that the Länder may provide different regulations. The aforementioned social lotteries may also be sold and brokered online under certain conditions of the GlüStV, whereby the GlüStV assumes that the event itself does not take place online. A licence for nationwide social lotteries can be applied for at the GGL. However, the competence for lotteries to be conducted only in individual federal states remains with the federal states.

 Licenses for other gambling products cannot currently be obtained.