Germany

Germany's online gambling market has been regulated under the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021 (GlüStV 2021) since 1 July 2021. The interstate treaty made virtual slot machines, online poker and online casino games licensable for the first time, under restrictive conditions. It also introduced a cross-operator deposit limit for online play, which in principle may not exceed EUR 1,000 a month and is monitored through a central limit file. Parallel play across operators is banned. Operators of sports betting, online casino, poker and virtual slots must run a "safe server" that the regulator can inspect electronically at any time.

The 16 states pooled their online supervision in the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), a public-law body based in Halle (Saale). In its five-year review, published on 22 September 2026, the GGL reported:

• 129 operators and intermediaries on its official whitelist, with 229 permitted gambling sites;
• 5.3 million registered players in the LUGAS central files at the end of 2025;
• a scientific channelisation study putting about 77% of the online market in regulated offerings.

Regulator and licensing

The GGL was established on 1 July 2021 and took over its full set of tasks on 1 January 2023. Since 1 January 2023 it has been the licensing authority for virtual slot machines and online poker under §§ 22a and 22b GlüStV 2021. It also licenses and supervises:

• online sports and horse betting;
• nationwide social lotteries;
• commercial lottery brokerage across several states;
• class lotteries.

Online casino games under § 22c, meaning virtual versions of banked games such as roulette or baccarat and live-streamed table games, remain with the individual states and their gambling authorities. The same applies to land-based casinos, arcades and the state lottery offering.

Licensed brands and domains appear on the official whitelist, which the GGL publishes under § 9(8) GlüStV 2021. Offering public gambling without a German licence is prohibited, and so is advertising unlicensed gambling under § 5(7) GlüStV 2021.

Against illegal offers the GGL uses several tools: prohibition orders backed by penalty payments, IP blocking via access providers, and payment blocking. It also files criminal complaints. The five-year review gives these figures:

• prohibition proceedings rose from 68 in 2022 to 287 in 2025;
• about 6,300 websites were checked by the end of 2025;
• in 2025, 1,843 illegal websites were no longer reachable from Germany;
• 178 sites were cut off from established payment channels.

The GGL says its actions increasingly target payment providers, advertising partners, affiliate networks and hosting providers, not just operators.

Key rules for affiliates

The GGL's advertising FAQ summarises the main limits. Most come from § 5 GlüStV 2021 and from the conditions attached to licences:

• Audience: Ads must not target minors or other vulnerable groups, including people with gambling problems.
• Content: Ads must not play down addiction risks, present gambling as a way to fix money problems, suggest time pressure, or be excessive. Bonus ads must clearly state who qualifies, the occasion, the duration and the amount.
• Time slot: Ads for virtual slots, online poker and online casino games are banned on broadcast and internet channels between 06:00 and 21:00 (§ 5(3) GlüStV 2021).
• Sports betting: Ads for bets on an event are not allowed on the channel showing it, just before or during the live broadcast. Ads featuring active athletes or officials are banned. Inside sports venues, only umbrella-brand advertising on shirts, boards and similar media is allowed.
• Separation of products: Operators offering several product types must keep them in separate areas and must not cross-promote between them.
• Whitelist: A whitelist entry does not make every ad by that operator lawful.

For publishers, the key point is that advertising an operator that is not on the whitelist is advertising illegal gambling. The GGL says it reviews streaming formats, affiliate cooperations and lifestyle content that may count as advertising. It cites a July 2024 ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Saxony-Anhalt that upheld its classification of streaming activity as advertising for unlicensed gambling. Influencers or streamers who promote unlicensed offers to people in Germany face prohibition orders and other administrative measures. Depending on the case, they may also face fines or criminal liability.

Recent changes

• September 2024: The GGL extended enforcement to large platforms. Since then, only licensed gambling operators may advertise via Google Ads in Germany.
• January 2026: The GGL called on licensed operators to do more against illegal offers.
• 13 August 2026: A new FAQ stated that betting on social, political or economic events is not licensable in Germany. Offers that effectively exclude and geo-block German users are not automatically treated as illegal offers in Germany.
• 9–10 September 2026: Regulators from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein met in Bern. They discussed enforcement against the wider ecosystem around illegal operators, including game studios, aggregators and platform operators, as well as prediction markets.
• 17 September 2026: The GGL welcomed an investigation by the Frankfurt am Main public prosecutor. According to published information, it concerns about EUR 5.86bn in stakes on unlicensed offers between July 2021 and the end of 2023.
• 22 September 2026: The GGL's five-year review noted that GlüStV 2021 is being evaluated. The GGL asked for more room to act within the legal framework so that regulation can keep pace with the market.
• 30 September 2026: The GGL published an advertising FAQ to coincide with the national action day against gambling addiction.