In Germany, as in all of Europe, there is high demand for gambling. And though there are some online options for sports betting and horse racing betting, there is no way to play poker, slots, or casino table games using an online, regulated Deutsch service. That said, you are able to participate in legal online gambling of all kinds in Germany, provided you use an offshore gaming site.
While German gambling laws can be complex and varied at the local level, when it comes to online gaming, it is legal and safe to patronize offshore operators that offer poker, sports betting, slots, table games, horse racing, bingo, lotteries, and more. German bettors have been using these sites for years with no trouble from local authorities, and you can sign up and be playing within just a few minutes by joining any of the sites listed below.
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Is Online Gambling Legal In Germany?
Yes! You can gamble legally online in Germany, through a variety of avenues. Domestically, Germany permits online lotteries and online wagering on sports betting and horse betting. However, if you want to participate in online casino gaming or poker rooms, you will have to find a non-domestic offshore operator.
Fortunately, German gambling laws allow residents to access these kinds of sites and gamble freely with them, which is also upheld by the free trade laws enshrined within the EU member state mandates. If you want one site that does it all, offshore casinos and sportsbooks are the way to go.
Which Deutsch Gambling Laws Regulate Gambling in Germany?
Inside Germany, the gambling laws that regulate the domestic industry are chiefly laid out by the 2008 Interstate Treaty on Gambling, or ISTG. This law is also known as the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag (GlüStV), which banned every kind of online casino gaming, leaving only sports betting and horse racing betting available to Deutsch bettors.
Further, the entities offering these amusements are all state-owned and have inconsistent rules and regulations from region to region. For example, depending on where you are in the country, the legal age to wager at these venues (or at domestic brick-and-mortar casinos and slots parlors) is between 18 and 21 years of age.
Again, however, online offshore gambling is permissible in Germany, and a number of global operators offer their services to eager bettors in the EU nation. Deutsch gambling participants only have to be 18 or older in order to sign up and play, and it is safe to do so.
Forms Of Legal Online Gambling Permitted For German Players In April 2024
Online Casinos
Online casinos are arguably more popular in Germany than domestic casino venues. This is due to a pair of important differences between the two models. First, domestic German casinos do not offer online gaming. If you want to play slots and table games through a Deutsch provider, you will have to physically visit a brick-and-mortar casino. Further, most of the gambling varieties at these venues require their players to be 21 and up.
Offshore casinos, on the other hand, allow for full mobile betting convenience no matter where inside Germany or the rest of the EU you are, and all the best operators take players starting at just 18 years of age.
Online Poker
Online poker is unavailable at any domestic Deutsch operator, so unless you have convenient access to a local card room, you will need to use an offshore poker site or gambling operator. Online poker is a hugely popular pastime worldwide, and its popularity is only growing.
Every major offshore sportsbook – and several offshore casino sites – offer online poker rooms and daily tournaments as a matter of course.
Online Horse Betting
You can wager legally on the ponies in Germany via online state-based racebooks, but you’ll get a much bigger selection of true international action if you use an offshore provider. Most overseas sportsbooks have large racebooks featuring daily races from the US, Canada, the Middle East, the UK, and even Japan.
Online Sports Betting
Germany allows domestic online sports betting, but the sports featured will be heavy on the European favorites, like Premier League and Bundesliga football, cricket, rugby, tennis, golf, basketball, and hockey. If you want to wager on the major American sports like the NFL, NBA, college football, the MLB, and others, offshore books will have many more options for each and every game on tap. In terms of the total package when it comes to sports betting, you will always have more, better options choosing an offshore wagering outlet.
Can I Gamble With Euro or German Deutsch Marks?
Yes and no, as Deutsch Marks were made obsolete by the introduction of the Euro in 2002. However, banks in Germany will still convert Deutsch Marks into Euro, which is a service that is allowed to persist indefinitely.
That said, Euro are not accepted by some of the top offshore betting sites serving German customers, as these sites tend to only process transactions via USD and CAD. However, several of these operators are more than happy to assist you in currency conversions, and you can do this by contacting customer support.
Alternatively, you can always exchange your local currency to USD/CAD before depositing, or you can bypass fiat money altogether by using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and others.
Deposit And Withdrawal Options For German Online Casinos 2024
There are several methods German players may use to deposit into their online gambling accounts. Our individual reviews page discusses all the banking options as well as the pros and cons of different payment methods.
We recommend Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) for all offshore deposits and withdrawals, thanks to the speed that BTC provides on both sides of the equation. Bitcoin is the only same-day withdrawal method available, for example. However, there are many deposit and payout options available to you, including the following (depending on the site or sites in question):
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- DASH
- Prepaid Visa
- Prepaid Mastercard
- PayPal
- Skrill
- Netteller
- EcoPayz
- + More
Do I Have To Pay Taxes When I Gamble Online In Germany?
If you use a domestic gaming provider in Germany, your country will withhold the requisite taxes or track your income for taxes to be paid in the future. Many online gamblers believe that using offshore gaming sites allows them to bypass the tax system of the German government, but this is not the case.
As a rule, you should consider any and all online gambling profits to be taxable income. Whenever you cash out your winnings from offshore sportsbooks, casinos, poker rooms, or racebooks, you are responsible for reporting that income and paying any associated taxes.