GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Jörg Hofmann, Matthias Spitz and Michelle Hembury, Melchers
2. Jurisdictional Overview 2.1 Online Gambling Betting
ferent natural persons play against each other at a virtual table. The player is also not allowed to choose a particular table; the allocation must be random. Under the Interstate Treaty, the federal states may decide to run online casino games as a state monop- oly, in collaboration with private operators, or to grant licences to private operators. Online casino games as defined by regulation are bank-holder games such as roulette and blackjack. These licences also cover the live broadcasting of table games. The number of licences will be strictly limited and must not exceed the number of licences of brick-and-mortar casinos in the respective state. Each federal state may decide individually, and the licence will be valid only within that state. States may join their territories for licens- ing purposes. The first federal states have drafted legislation. Only North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein decided to issue online casino game licences to private operators. Schleswig-Holstein has already carried out its tender, which was concluded in Sep- tember 2024, where it issued four licences to private operators, allowing them to operate casino games for customers based in Schleswig-Holstein only. North Rhine-Westphalia is still preparing its tender. On the other hand, Thuringia is one of the first federal states to rely on a state monopoly, similarly to Bavaria. The latter is the first state that started to go live with online- casino offerings in 2024. Lotteries Lotteries are subject to a state monopoly. Private operators may only obtain licences allowing them to sell lottery tickets on behalf of the state lottery compa- nies. Secondary lotteries are considered as unauthor- ised betting and, therefore, are a priority for regulatory enforcement. Fantasy Sports There are no specific rules under gambling law with respect to fantasy sports. Whether a fantasy sports offering qualifies as a game of chance or falls outside the scope of German gambling regulations needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Under the Interstate Treaty, online sports and horse race betting are licensable. All other forms of online betting are considered to be games of chance that are still not licensable. If offered online, such activities would be considered unauthorised gambling by the Interstate Treaty. Betting on social or political events (eg, who will be the next German chancellor) is prohib- ited. At the time of writing, 28 sports betting licences have been issued. Bingo Bingo is considered to be a lottery product. Lotteries in general remain subject to a state monopoly. Online Casino, Virtual Slots and Online Poker Since 1 July 2021, operators may apply for licences for virtual slot games as well as for online poker. At the time of writing, the GGL has issued 37 licences to slots operators and five licences for online poker. A very recent development is that four casino opera- tors have been licensed to operate casino games in the territory of Schleswig-Holstein. Special requirements also apply to virtual slot games, for example: • a stake limit of EUR1 per game; • a minimum duration of five seconds per spin; • the prohibition of simultaneous playing of several virtual slot games on one domain; and • the prohibition of an auto-play function. In terms of marketing/branding, in connection with the operation of slot machines, operators may no longer use the term “casino” or “casino games”. Due to a high tax on stakes, low return to player (RTP) is to be expected. Online poker (now being permissible) also faces a set of product-related restrictions – eg, players may not play at more than four tables at the same time. The licence will contain further restrictions in its ancillary provisions. Video poker is prohibited. Online poker is only allowed in variants without a banker, where dif -
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