German Casinos

Searching for top online casinos in Germany? Check our expert shortlist of German-friendly casino sites with fast payouts and local support.

1. 

   Cherry GoldRating: 4.9 ★

2. 

   Las Vegas USARating: 4.8 ★

3. 

   SlotoCashRating: 4.7 ★

4. 

   BoVegasRating: 4.6 ★

5. 

   Vave CasinoRating: 4.5 ★

Germany is a late adopter when it comes to legal remote gambling, as it passed legislation to license and regulate online gambling activities in the summer of 2021. House-banked games, peer-to-peer poker, and online slots are all regulated under the Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021, which also created a licensing system for their legal provision online. Additionally, this piece of legislation transferred the supervisory responsibilities from the local governments of Germany’s federal states to a newly created regulatory body called the Joint Gambling Authority (GGL).

The Halle-based organization is tasked with the oversight of online gambling in the country and ensures compliance with the rules for player protection and responsible gaming. However, few casino operators have ventured into the German market due to harsh and restrictive licensing conditions. That said, some online casinos continue to service German customers with permits granted by the authorities of other jurisdictions, catering to local players with convenient payment methods that facilitate transactions in EUR. We have compiled a list of the best gambling sites that welcome players from Germany, along with information on the payment methods they support and the most popular games on offer.

History and Legal Landscape of Online Gambling in Germany

Two decades ago, interactive gambling had not been regulated in Germany but was proclaimed illegal after the so-called Interstate Treaty on Gambling (ISTG) was officially enforced at the start of 2008. The treaty led German authorities to insist that internet providers block access for local players to foreign gambling websites. At the same time, the government attempted to prohibit German banking institutions from processing transactions to and from gambling-related websites.

From the outset, all 16 federal states in Germany agreed to sign the Interstate Treaty. However, because gambling-related activities are regulated at the state level, Schleswig-Holstein opted out of the treaty in 2012 and created its own online-gambling legislation.

This resulted in Schleswig-Holstein issuing licences to more than thirty online gambling websites where all German players—not only residents of the state—were allowed to register and bet. Some of the foreign operators to receive licences from the state were industry heavyweights like PokerStars, Betfair, bet365, and 888casino. Unfortunately, German residents were unable to enjoy the licensed websites for long, since the licences granted by Schleswig-Holstein were revoked the very next year. After Schleswig-Holstein’s government was voted out of office and a new administration took over, things took a turn for the worse.

Fortunately, the online gambling operators that had already obtained licences from the previous administration were allowed to keep them until they expired at the beginning of 2018. While the licences remained valid, the foreign operators were permitted to provide interactive casino games and poker only to players residing within the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Presently, there is no way for other online gambling operators to receive licences allowing them to offer interactive casino games to German players.

However, this does not prevent Germans from partaking in gambling activities at the websites of operators regulated outside the country. As mentioned earlier, a good number of licensed and trustworthy web-based gaming providers are more than willing to accept registrations from customers who permanently reside in Germany. More importantly, there are no known cases of players facing fines or prosecution for betting online at offshore gaming websites.

The good news is that many renowned gambling websites strive to enhance convenience and flexibility for their players, and Germans are not excluded. Established online casinos typically process deposits and withdrawals in a variety of currencies, and EUR is among the accepted options. More importantly, German players can choose from a range of secure payment methods, including the online banking service Giropay, which is reserved exclusively for customers holding accounts with participating German (or Austrian) financial institutions.

The Future of Online Gambling in Germany

Germany has been rebuked by the European Union for its rigid laws regarding online gambling. According to the EU, the course the country has taken violates the Union’s rules on competition and free trade. Things got rather heated when, in February 2016, the European Court of Justice declared that the current online gambling laws in Germany were “illegal” due to their very restrictive nature.

The Court’s ruling prohibited the country from penalizing, or even restricting access to, the websites of foreign gambling operators that accept German players, because German legislation had made it impossible for these operators to apply for and obtain licences to provide their services legally.

Interestingly enough, this was not the first time German authorities had faced legal action because of their stringent stance on online gambling. The Austrian company Bwin Interactive, which owns and operates the online poker platform partypoker, attempted to sue the state twice but to no avail. Bwin then tried to appeal the case to the German Supreme Court, arguing that Germany should comply with EU laws that all other member states follow. Things were eventually settled in favor of the gambling provider.

As the licences issued by Schleswig-Holstein were about to expire at the beginning of 2018, German lawmakers proposed various changes to the online-gambling legislation to ensure compliance with EU rules. Some of these amendments included issuing sports-betting concessions to more than thirty online operators that met the outlined criteria.

Most of the proposed changes concerned sports betting, but nevertheless, this was interpreted as a good sign that amendments would soon be made to the legislation covering virtual casino games as well. If accepted, the changes were expected to come into force no sooner than early 2018. Meanwhile, German casino enthusiasts could only keep their fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Important Update

The German government moved forward with regulating online gambling a couple of years ago through the passage of the new Interstate Treaty 2021. This legislation created a licensing framework for the provision of online slots and led to the establishment of a central regulatory body tasked with their oversight.

Most other federal states either do not regulate online table games or impose monopolies on their provision. As a result, German players commonly resort to offshore gambling sites where they encounter a considerably greater diversity of blackjack, roulette, poker, and baccarat variations, including live games run by professional dealers.

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