Legality of casinos, lotteries, betting and online gambling

Lotteries (Lotto/Toto/Keno)

Lotteries in Germany are historically a "public" sphere: organization and distribution are under the control of land operators and their associations. Sales and advertising are subject to strict age and channel restrictions, and part of the income is directed to sports, culture and social programs.

Land casinos (Spielbanken)

Opening and operating a casino is a subject of land law: each land itself determines the number of objects, admission conditions, tax model and validity of licenses (usually 10 years with an extension option). Compliance with the rules is monitored at the land level in coordination with federal standards.

Online market: what exactly is legal

• Sports betting (prematch and live - within acceptable markets).
• Virtual slot machines ("online slots") - with behavioral restraints.
• Online poker - as a separate vertical.
• These areas are governed by a single GGL contract and oversight, which ensures common standards across the country.

Online table games: special rules of the land

In relation to online roulette, blackjack and other table games, land competence is applied: somewhere they are not at all, somewhere a limited pool of licenses or a state model is installed. Therefore, the map of access to the table-games online remains heterogeneous between the lands.

Oversight: GGL, OASIS and LUGAS

GGL (Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder) is the general regulator of the online market responsible for licensing, monitoring advertising and combating illegal sites; maintains public lists of admitted operators and explains what exactly is considered legal "online casino" in German law.

OASIS - unified register of self-exclusion/bans: player entry blocks access to all licensed products in the country until the end of the ban.

LUGAS is an inter-operator system for accounting for limits and activity, which prevents parallel excess of basic restrictions for different brands.

Basic requirements for online games

For virtual slots, behavioral "brakes" apply: prohibition of autospin and simultaneous play in several slots, minimum spin duration, bet limit; poker - control of collusion/bots and restrictions on simultaneous tables and "speed" formats. All verticals are required to connect to OASIS/LUGAS, conduct KYC before deposits and follow RG procedures.

Advertising and promotion

Online gambling advertising is allowed only with licensed operators and in a moderate tone: prohibition of promises of "easy money," strict age filters, transparent bonus conditions and channel/frequency restrictions. For illegal offers and advertising, blocking, dereferencing and sanctions are provided.

What is considered illegal

Any online products outside the GlüStV-2021 (or offered without a German license/in the "wrong" land for table games) are illegal. The regulator regularly publishes lists of permitted operators and suppresses settlements with offshore sites through payment bans and administrative procedures.

Practical cheat sheet for legality (today)

Lotteries: state/land operators - yes (subject to channels and age).

Land casinos: Yes, under land licenses.

Online sports betting: yes, with a GGL license and RG tools.

Virtual slots online: yes, with a license and strict restrictions.

Online poker: yes, as a separate licensed vertical.

Online table games: depend on the ground (restricted/not allowed somewhere).

Any unlicensed sites and their advertising: no - blocking, payment bans, sanctions.

Germany's legal regime is "controlled liberalization": a wide offline perimeter, state lotteries and legal online in three verticals under the unified supervision of GGL and with a powerful system of player protection. Border zone - online table games, where the decision remains with the lands. For the player, the main reference point is the GGL/whitelisting license and self-control tools; for the operator - compliance-first approach, open advertising without "dark patterns" and stable integration with OASIS/LUGAS.