In this regard, almost all existing offers are currently illegal (as of 16.05.2022). If you want to focus on gambling, I recommend my legal online casinos tested from the table at first. These are good German casinos, where I have already done all the checks for you. 2012 – The 2012 State Treaty on Gambling enters into force. This is the current main piece of German gambling legislation. This regulated gambling at the federal level, as gambling was previously primarily regulated at the state level. Some forms of online gambling have been legalized and the government has begun issuing licenses to private companies. However, due to various EU laws, German gamblers were free to play at licensed gambling sites in other EU countries, and the government was powerless to stop them. This led to the very unusual situation between 2016 and 2021, that even though online casinos were illegal in Germany, the government could not prevent citizens from playing in foreign online casinos without a license, which paid no tax. The players have not been prosecuted for playing at these offshore online casinos. These lotteries are not allowed and therefore illegal, which is why you are not allowed to receive your winnings. Slot machines are also legal in Germany (although some states have banned them).

However, the following federal limitations must be observed in each state: Before 01.07.2021, all online casinos in Germany were illegal (with the exception of Schleswig-Holstein, where there were already regulations for online gambling). The laws that regulate gambling and prohibit certain games of chance are aimed at two things. On the one hand, they serve to protect players and, on the other hand, they are intended to secure the state monopoly. Above all, make sure you use licensed and legal games that guarantee fair gambling. Sports betting is a good example. The draft law for the new state treaty on gambling was already submitted in May 2020, but only entered into force on 1.7.2021. Since then, online casinos can be operated legally in Germany for the first time. This means that previously, all online casinos in Germany were illegal. Online roulette is also part of online gambling. This means that the same rule applies: the operator must have a German license for the offer to be legal.

Of course, we cannot estimate the personal requirements you have on the casino offer. Some are die-hard fans of slots and other German players prefer more legal online roulette casinos or legal online blackjack casinos. Other players are looking for legal baccarat online casinos, legal craps online casinos or legal live online casinos. But we all have one thing in common: security creates trust. And that`s why you`ll only find providers with an official gaming license in comparison. On 1 July 2021, the new interstate treaty on gambling entered into force in Germany. This allows online casinos to legally offer poker, casino and virtual slot games throughout Germany for the first time. But are all online casinos legal in this country? How many gambling providers have been able to obtain a German concession so far? This remained an issue until 2013, when Schleswig-Holstein (due to pressure from the federal government) finally signed the 2012 Interstate Treaty on Gambling2, which somewhat limited state autonomy (with regard to the regulation of gambling, especially internet gambling), which solved some of the structural problems. In addition, it legalized online casinos.

So far, Germany has not had a modern gambling law in line with European legislation. The reason for this has a lot to do with politics. Lottery companies and state casinos want to keep their monopoly and fight against competition by all means. To this end, drug prevention is very often thrown into the field. This is intended to conceal the fact that the state`s suppliers make a lot of money. Payout rates in lottery companies and casinos are much lower than in online casinos. This applies to legal slot casinos and legal roulette casinos as well as legal blackjack casinos as well as other casino games. It will therefore remain exciting to see how the situation develops. The Netherlands recently passed a player-friendly law. In Switzerland, there is also a new law, but it is designed in such a way that local casinos benefit from it.

This has caused some problems as different states have interpreted gambling laws differently, especially when it comes to online gambling.