Germany

Germany regulates online gambling under the 2021 State Treaty, supervised nationally by the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL). Virtual slots, online poker and sports betting are licensed through nationwide GGL permits, but online casino table games sit outside this regime - they are available only via individual state licences or state monopolies, so the regulated casino status carries a significant restriction. The product is deliberately constrained: virtual slots are capped at EUR 1 per spin. Germany's tax model is internationally unusual, levying 5.3% on stakes (turnover) rather than GGR for virtual slots, online poker and sports betting, while state-level table games are taxed on GGR. This stake-based tax squeezes margins and is widely blamed for weak channelisation, with sports-betting channelling around 77%. Enforcement is a live battleground: in March 2025 the Federal Administrative Court ruled the GGL's IP-blocking power under Section 9 GlueStV unlawful, forcing a legislative fix, and by May 2026 the authority had pivoted to payment-blocking, ordering 40-plus payment providers to cut off unlicensed slot operators. A draft amendment to the State Treaty is in progress for 2026, reworking blocking powers around the DSA intermediary-services concept, with entry into force realistic during the year. For operators, Germany is a large but difficult market: a restricted product, a punitive turnover tax, and a persistent offshore channelisation problem that regulators are still struggling to bring under control.