Is online gambling legal in Germany? The short answer is yes, but there are some complications. Back in 2012, Germany passed the Interstate Treaty on Gambling, and its purpose was to regulate online sports betting in the country.

However, that law was rejected by the European Supreme Court as it violated the EU’s competition rules. So, this treaty never went into effect.

Since then, the legality of online gambling in Germany was very unclear, as the sector was not regulated. This also meant that there were no laws in place to prohibit online gambling as well

You need to know that one state, Schleswig-Holstein, chose a different path than the rest of Germany’s states. It became the sole state to legalise online gambling in Germany, and it was quick to hand out licenses to 23 online casinos.

The good news is that the German government introduced new legislation called the Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021, which came into effect that same year.

Now, online gambling is legal across all states in Germany, so punters in the country are free to access any gambling site that holds a license.

Thankfully, the German government recognised the need for better online gambling legislation, which led to the birth of the new Interstate Treaty of Gambling. That law has the following implications:

• Online casinos can apply for a license to offer slots, poker games or online sports betting in Germany

• Licenses are valid for 5 years

• A new Central Supervisory Authority would be created to oversee the online gambling sector in Germany

• Table games are not allowed in the new legislation

• Live dealer games are also not allowed

• Online casinos must offer a security deposit between $5-$50 million upon starting operations

• Players are required to set monthly deposit limits on any licensed online casino in Germany, which cannot exceed $1,000

• Players are not allowed to gamble from multiple operators at the same time

Even though table and live casino games are not allowed with the new legislation, the good news is that there are tons of international sites that offer those games and accept players from Germany.

The German government does not seem interested in prosecuting players for gambling at offshore sites. Therefore, there will be no problem for whoever trying to access international online casinos to play their favourite table and live dealer games.

Another aspect that is very important for online casino traffic Germany is the payment methods allowed for deposits and withdrawals.

The most important rule that you need to know here is that new regulations prohibit the use of credit cards for online gambling and betting. 

This is a standard practice among developed gambling jurisdictions, as the UK is another example of such prohibitions.

That doesn’t mean that German players are short of options. Arguably the most popular payment method nowadays in Germany for online gambling is Sofort

Sofort uses secure transactions with a few simple steps, with it also being the top pick in countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands.

Moreover, anonymous payment methods, such as prepaid vouchers are not allowed with the new legislation in Germany. Punters in the country also like to use e-Wallets such as Paypal for all their transactions. PayPal is known for its safety and fast payouts, so it is a no-brainer to see it being highly popular among Germans.

At the moment of writing, Germany is 11th in the world list population’s smartphone penetration. Around 80% of German citizens own a smartphone these days, which is a very solid number.

Everyone who owns a smartphone surely looks to finish all their daily activities through it, and it includes online gambling as well. 

Online casinos in Germany and the ones from abroad that accept players from the country have noticed this new trend of mobile gaming. Therefore, they were quick to offer mobile-friendly sites or mobile apps that players in Germany could download for free.

Moreover, game providers make sure to create games with HTML5 technology, so everything is in place for a seamless mobile gaming experience. This is a trend that is likely to continue in the coming years, so we will surely see more sites offering better apps.

If we had to sum it up in one sentence, we would say that the future of online gambling in Germany looks very bright.

There are tons of developed countries in the world which have seen the benefits of a legal online gambling sector, with Germany being the latest to jump on the train.

The only negative here is that live dealer and table games are not allowed, but over time, we expect the German government to change this restriction.