Online gambling in Germany 2025
Online gambling in Germany is now legal, with various licensed sports betting sites, poker rooms and online casinos operating. Legal online gambling in Germany first came to fruition in 2021, when the Fourth Interstate Treaty came into effect. Our guide to online gambling in Germany will run you through everything you need to know to get started, including the top gambling sites, best offers and promotions, local gambling venues and more.
Best gambling sites in Germany
German gambling sites are readily available in 2025, with a fully regulated sports betting industry operating in this European country.
The top German gambling sites will feature online casino games, sports betting and other forms of real money wagering, including lotteries and horse racing.
Another huge pro of gambling in Germany is that it is a fully regulated industry, with guardrails in place to keep players safe, and all of the top iGaming developers operate here.
The best gambling sites include major international brands like bet365, betano, bwin and Interweetten, with all of these found on their own .de URLs.
Like much of the world, when registering at gambling sites in Germany you will be required to follow Know Your Player (KYC) protocols, which involve your details either being automatically verified, or you will need to send in documents to prove the details you provided are accurate.
Popular casino games in Germany include online slots, blackjack, roulette and poker, although the latter is largely seperate from other forms of gambling, with dedicated poker sites also allowed.
The GGL, the regulator in Germany, publishes a whitelist of all legal gambling sites in Germany, but barring sports betting, these are regulated at a state level and what they can offer players is decided by these authorities.
Gambling sites can be accessed via mobile, with many having apps available, with iOS, Android and Huawei all being catered to, although the latter is only just emerging in the online wagering space.
Top gambling apps in Germany
The best gambling apps in Germany are cutting-edge technology, and cater to the most popular smartphones and tablets.
While Android holds roughly 60% of the market share in Germany, iOS is a clear second and both of these are catered for when it comes to gambling apps.
Downloading Android gambling apps is generally done via the Google Play store, with all of the major brands, like bet365, Betway and BWIN make their offerings available here.
Same goes for iPhone or iPad users, with the major German gambling sites having extensive gambling app offerings available via the App Store.
Other smartphones are used in Germany, including Huawei, but their has been minimal effort by gambling sites to launch apps via the AppGallery.
The World Gambling List recommends opening your account prior to download gambling apps, so you are eligible for any offers we have available.
Real money gambling in Germany
Gambling Guides
Real money gambling online can be a tricky business, but using our casino and gambling guides can give you the inside running.
Online Poker
Online poker is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the world, with tournaments worth well into the millions of dollars hosted on a weekly basis. We love poker and hope you enjoy our informative take on it.
Casino Games & Rules
If you’re a beginner to an online casino game you have come to the right place. Our casino games and rules guides will have you winning in no time.
Sports gambling
Germans gamble on many different sports including football, tennis, basketball, athletics, winter sports and handball. Popular sports gambling guides include
- Football betting
- Basketball betting
- FIFA World Cup
- Tennis betting
- Bundesliga betting
- Sports betting
Live gambling sites
Live gambling has become the new normal when playing table games at online casinos. German live gambling sites we endorse are heavily checked by the WGL team, before promoting them. Our top live gambling sites are:
Horse Racing
The first documented horse racing in Germany took place in 1822 and it has grown from there. Today, German horse racing is a massive industry with extensive interest from gambling.
Online gambling in Germany
To operate as a gambling website in Germany, operators must secure a licence from the newly formed national gambling authority, the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL). The licensing process is open to overseas companies, but meeting the strict criteria is no easy task. Applicants must prove full compliance with German gambling laws, covering everything from transparent financial reporting to robust player protection policies and strict advertising controls.
Although online gambling is now legal, regulators remain cautious — particularly with online casino products. At present, only virtual slot machines and online poker are fully regulated at the national level, while other online casino games fall under state jurisdiction. Individual states may choose to manage these games via a state-run monopoly or by granting a limited number of licences. Under Section 22c(1) of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling, the number of online casino licences cannot exceed the total issued to land-based casinos in the same state.
Despite these strict gambling regulations, many of the world’s top gambling sites operate in Germany, including bet365, BWIN and 888Sport. These German gambling sites offer everything from casino games, to sports betting, right through to online poker and virtual games. They are also all host on .de URLs, which can be comforting.
Despite the strict laws surrounding German gambling sites, to this day, many offshore operators flout the local laws and accept players from here. The World Gambling List chooses to abide by the local laws and only advertise gambling sites that hold licensing from the GGL.
Regional gambling authorities in Germany
| Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) | Ministerium für Inneres und Sport des Landes Niedersachsen |
| Hesse (Hessen) | Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt |
| Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) | Landesverwaltungsamt Sachsen-Anhalt |
| Brandenburg | Ministerium des Innern und für Kommunales Brandenburg |
| North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-westfalen) | Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf |
| Berlin | Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport Berlin |
| Bavaria (Bayern) | Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration |
| Baden-Württemberg | Ministerium für Inneres, Digitalisierung und Migration Baden-Württemberg |
| Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) | Ministerium der Finanzen Rheinland-Pfalz |
| Thuringia (Thüringen) | Thüringer Landesverwaltungsamt |
| Saxony (Sachsen) | Ministerium für Inneres und Sport des Landes Sachsen |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) | Ministerium für Inneres und Europa Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| Bremen | Senatorin für Finanzen Bremen |
| Bremen (Local) | Senator für Inneres Bremen |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Ministerium für Inneres, Bau und Gleichstellung des Landes Schleswig-Holstein |
| Hamburg | Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg |
Online gambling laws in Germany
Germany has legalised most forms of real money online gambling, with this including sports betting, online casinos, lottery betting and games associated with these.
The newly regulated industry came into existence in 2021 and has continued to grow, following the birth of the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag, which is the national framework for online gambling.
The process of regulating each state in Germany has fallen to the local authorities and they have slowly rolled out regulation surrounding online casinos and sports.
Despite this many unlicensed gambling sites accept players from Germany in 2025, with these include many licensed in Curacao and other regions where the regulator is lenient in allowing their licensees to ignore the laws in some regions.
Key gambling laws in Germany include:
- Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021 (GlüStV 2021) – the national framework treaty for gambling. It legalises/sets rules for online sports betting, virtual slots and online poker; assigns supervision to the Joint Gambling Authority (GGL); and sets player-protection rules (e.g., OASIS/LUGAS) and advertising limits.
- State implementation & casino laws (Länderrecht) – each federal state implements the treaty and regulates “online casino games” (bankholder table games) itself under §22c GlüStV (options include state monopoly or limited licences).
- Rennwett- und Lotteriegesetz (RennwLottG) – federal tax law for gambling; since 2021 it introduced stake taxes for online poker and virtual slots (e.g., tax base under §§46–51)
- Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) §§284–285 – criminal offences for organising and participating in unlawful gambling (plus related sections on illegal lotteries), used against unlicensed offers.
- Geldwäschegesetz (GwG) – anti-money-laundering act; gambling operators are “obligated entities,” with special rules for internet gambling in §16 and sector guidance overseen by the GGL.
- Advertising provisions – GlüStV §5 sets the core rules for gambling advertising; Länder also apply a joint Werberichtlinie that further details what is permitted.
- Player-protection systems mandated by law – OASIS (nationwide self-exclusion) and LUGAS (central limit/activity files) are compulsory compliance systems tied to GlüStV licensing and oversight.
Euro payment options at German gambling sites
Funding gambling sites in the Euro currency is a straight-forward process in Germany, with the regulated industry featuring various payment options to suit different types of players.
The most popular ways to fund online gambling accounts include credit and debit cards, with the most common ones being Visa and Mastercard, although others like Amex and JCB are readily accepted.
Web wallets like Skrill and Neteller are allowed at Euro gambling sites in Germany, while instant payments using Trustly are very popular, with this service working with banks such as Sparkasse and Deutsche Bank.
Some gambling sites even allow you to make bank transfers to a local bank account, which can take longer than your average payment, but does allow bigger sums to be sent to your account.
Popular gambling payment types include:
| Payment Method | Deposit Speed | Min – Max (€) |
| Sofort (Klarna) | Instant | — |
| paysafecard / myPaysafe | Instant | 5 – 1,000 |
| Credit Card | Instant | 5 – 40,000 |
| Debit Card | Instant | 5 – 40,000 |
| Trustly | Instant | 10 – 6,000 |
| Skrill | Instant | 5 – 35,000 |
| Skrill 1-Tap | Instant | 5 – 10,000 |
| Neteller | Instant | 15 – 37,500 |
| Bank Transfer (Wire) | 2–10 days | 100 – 150,000 |
Customer service at German gambling sites
Germans gambling online usually work out they have run into trouble when they go to contact customer service at gambling sites and it’s non-existent or non-responsive. Generally, German gambling sites will have multiple methods of contacting the, with these including:
- Telephone
- Live chat
Gambling in Germany FAQ
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What is the minimum gambling age in Germany?
Germans must be aged 18 years or older to partake in gambling. Some land-based casinos in Germany enforce a 21+ policy.
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Who regulates gambling in Germany?
While there is a national framework set up to tackle gambling, land-based and real money gambling sites are regulated by the 16 German states. For instance, sports betting is regulated centrally gambling authority of Hesse, while each state’s lotteries are looked after by their respective regulator.
Land-based and remote gambling are regulated by the competent authorities in the 16 German states. The authorities’ powers are divided by states and by the type of gambling. For example, the state lotteries are supervised by the respective state’s gambling authority. Sports betting, on the other hand, is centrally supervised by the gambling authority of Hesse.
The gambling authorities have far-reaching powers. They are able to grant or deny gambling licences and impose additional requirements on licensed gambling operators (eg, duties to report). They may also interdict unlawful gambling or withdraw gambling licences. In administrative offence proceedings the gambling authorities have police powers (eg, to search the premises of gambling operators).
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Can I fund my gambling account with Paypal?
Yes, Paypal is readily available at Germany’s gambling sites, however it is not as common as other jurisdictions.
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Can I deposit to gambling sites with credit card?
Yes, credit cards are an accepted payment method at legal gambling sites in Germany.
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How can I check if a gambling site is licensed in Germany?
Generally German gambling sites will have a link in the footer of their website to their regulator. If this fails, check their “About Us” section. Customer support an also tell you about gambling operators’ licenses.
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Can Germans self-exclude from online gambling?
Yes, Germans can self-exclude from online gambling via the national self-exclusion program called OASIS.
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Are cryptos like bitcoin allowed to be used to fund gambling accounts?
Cryptocurrencies are specifically banned as a funding method at real money gambling sites in Germany.
