Gambling within the entirety of Germany was prohibited during the second world war. After the war came to an end, a new constitution was drafted. It introduced a new policy for gambling laws – rather than being federally regulated, each German state ought to be in charge of drafting gaming regulations for that area.
In 2008, Germany passed the Interstate Gambling Treaty; however, the European Court of Justice shut it down because it directly contradicted the EU’s fair play laws. So, the treaty was revised in 2011 and re-passed in 2012. The revision allowed the operation of online lotteries. It also legalized interstate jackpots, in addition to advertisements of casinos. Furthermore, it opened up the opportunity for some vendors to operate free of the state’s monopoly.
Here are the types of gambling that are currently legal in Germany:
- Table games/In-person card games. A game may run without a state-issued permit, as long as the buy-in is under 15 euros. If the investment is higher than that, the operator needs a license issued by their respective state; therefore, those games are only run within one of Germany’s licensed casinos.
- Betting on Sports Events. Germany owns a land-based sports betting monopoly, known as “Onset”. However, Schleswig-Holstein (the northernmost state of Germany) gave permission for 20 gaming vendors to have online operations.
- Lotteries. These are super popular in Germany; because every state is allowed to create their own gaming rules, there are lotteries – private, as well as public. However, there is a main lottery that organizes each of the state lotteries; it is known as the Deutsche Lotto-Toto Block (DLTB). Online lotteries are also permissible in Germany.
- Slots. Machines for playing slots are mainly available in Germany’s casinos, which exist in 14 states. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia are the only states that do not have casinos. Casino slots are also permitted to be hosted in slot halls; however, there are restrictions placed on these buildings to prevent addiction. Currently, it is not legal for Germany-based vendors to host online slots.
Online casinos are not legal in Germany. However, the Interstate Gambling Treaty is undergoing ratification, in which online poker games, as well as online casinos, will become legal – albeit with some restrictions. For instance, slots games will have a maximum stake limit of 1 euro per spin. They must also be offered separately from casino table games; furthermore, they cannot have a jackpot or an autoplay mechanism.
Sports betting will also be modified; during live betting, wagers may only be placed on the next scorer or the final result.
Furthermore, all providers will have a mandatory deposit limit of 1000 euros. A watershed will be introduced, in which operators cannot advertise their gambling services between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The adjustments to the Interstate Gambling Treaty must be approved by all state parliaments in Germany, as well as the European Commission. Until the ratification is approved, the third State Treaty will remain in authority.