Online gambling is mostly outlawed in Germany. We say
“mostly” because Germany is one of those places where it’s
definitely illegal to host a gaming site, but the legality of
just placing bets online is unclear. A certain interpretation of
German law could classify the act of placing a bet online as
illegal, but the authorities appear to have no interest in
reading or enforcing the law in that manner.
One thing we can tell you for certain is that online gambling
is popular in Germany. More importantly, not a single German has
ever gotten in trouble placing a bet over the internet. The
legal battles in that country mostly revolve around the right of
operators to offer their services to the public.
Player Liquidity for Schleswig-Holstein’s Online Poker. To make online poker gambling feasible, the Jamaican Coalition wants to partner with three other, larger German states. North Rhine-Westphalia has a population of 17.85 million people, the Rhineland-Palatinate region has a population of 4,052,803, and Hesse has a population of 6,176,172.
Where to Play Online
Any Germans reading this should look to gambling sites based
out of the country. Current national law doesn’t allow for the
licensing of casino sites, so people resort to foreign
operators. Companies based outside of Germany aren’t beholden
to German law and can therefore accept wagers from anyone inside
the country.
The main thing to remember when dealing with foreign
operators is that you have no legal recourse under German law if
something happens to your money. It’s best to stick with
gambling sites that are licensed by reputable jurisdictions such
as the UK or the Isle of Man. Equally important is the
reputation of each site in terms of paying players and hosting
honest games.
Stick with the places recommended here to ensure your safety
and get paid when you win. These are some of the biggest names
in the global gaming market, and they are as legit as any
brick-and-mortar casino in Germany.
German Law is in a State of Flux
Towns In Schleswig Holstein Germany
The difficulty in analyzing the German market is that the
laws have experienced a great deal of turbulence in recent
times. Adding to the confusion is the ability of each state to
regulate gambling how it sees fit.
Germany is a mix of wide-reaching national laws and more
limited state laws. Some forms of betting are allowed in some
states while others are banned in others. It’s also apparent
that incoming governors are not afraid to completely reverse
gaming laws enacted by their predecessors.
Up until 2008, online gambling was unregulated in Germany.
The laws at the time didn’t address the internet in any way.
Things changed when the Interstate Treaty on Gambling (ISTG) was
passed in 2008. This effectively banned all forms of online
gambling other than sports betting and horse racing offered by
state-owned entities.
All 16 states initially joined the treaty. The state of
Schleswig-Holstein opted out in 2012 and even issued licenses to
about 3 dozen operators, including PokerStars and 888. It would
not last for long. The move was reversed just a year later when
the state government was voted out of office and the new
governor took over.
The good news for the operators that went through the trouble
of getting licensed is their 6-year licenses remain in effect.
All operators who earned licenses are able to provide real money
casino games and poker to players inside the state of
Schleswig-Holstein until 2018.
As things stand now, online gambling is largely outlawed
across Germany with the exception of the two dozen or so operators
who have licenses to operate in Schleswig-Holstein. There are no
other legal gaming sites in Germany, and there’s no way to
obtain a license to offer games.
German gaming laws violate EU rules regarding free trade and
competition. The EU has chastised Germany for its harsh stance
on gambling, but Germany seems destined to keep things as they
are for the time being. In the meantime, we would like to point
you to any of the safe and reputable gaming sites mentioned on
this site.
Germany online poker overview
| Poker Site | Online | Cash | 24 H Peak | 7 Day avg | Last Week | Play Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PokerStars | 55540 | 5514 | 10529 | 7000 | 8710 | Play Now |
| GGPoker | 9945 | 1767 | 2215 | 1700 | 1884 | Play Now |
| 888poker | 678 | 1775 | 1000 | 974 | Play Now | |
| PartyPoker | 1568 | 1045 | 2208 | 1300 | 768 | Play Now |
| iPoker | 1384 | 452 | 1073 | 700 | 742 | Play Now |
Germany is home to numerous poker superstars, such as Fedor Holz, Christopher Vogelsang, and Ole Schemion, so people tend to assume that it’s a very poker-friendly country. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly the case.
Aside from Schleswig-Holstein, Germany does not have any online poker-specific regulations. Nobody seems interested in pressing the issue on the federal or local level. As is often the case in such circumstances, the law is somewhat ambiguous. Thus, players are largely left to their own devices.
Germany online poker laws
Generally speaking, Gambling laws are considered a part of the public order domain. This means that they are managed by the state (Bundesland) level. The local Ministries of the Interior usually supervise land-based casinos.
Specific regulators are assigned certain competencies in accordance with the Interstate Treaty on Gambling. For example, the Hessian Ministry of the Interior and Sports is responsible for sports betting licenses. Meanwhile, authorities of North Rhine Westphalia manage advertising permissions for lotteries and bookmakers.
What is or is not legal in Germany?
This is where things get a little more confusing. The Interstate Treaty prohibits any German business from hosting online poker games. However, it does not specifically prohibit German citizens from playing real-money games operated by companies licensed abroad. This begs the question: would it be possible for one of those states to prosecute a German player?
Theoretically speaking, the answer is yes. So far though, no players have been charged with any crimes due to activities related to online poker.
Consequently, most German poker enthusiasts simply shrug the matter off and do their thing. The situation is basically the same as in pre-Black FridayAmerica.
What confuses the situation further is the fact that Schleswig-Holstein issues its own online gambling licenses. In fact, many high-profile Europe-facing poker operators have acquired them. Such a license essentially confirms that it is legal for Schleswig-Holstein residents to play on any site that holds it.
Poker rooms with such a license include:
- Ladbrokes
- Betfair
- Bwin.party
- Bet365
- Bet-at-home
Up until the 1980s, the legal gambling age in Germany used to be 21, but 12 out of 16 states lowered it to 18 since then.
Where can I play poker online in Germany?
As briefly touched on above, German residents have unrestricted access to all the major poker networks operating on the international market. The German government has never attempted to prosecute individual operators. As such, operators don’t have a reason to ban Germans from joining their platforms. Consequently, German players have access to international player pools. Meanwhile, many of their European colleagues make do with fenced, low-traffic sites.
PokerStars
PokerStars overview
Undoubtedly the largest online poker network in the world, drawing in more players than all other West-facing sites combined. PokerStars is also the only site offering the full experience when it comes to online poker, including a sense of belonging to an actual community, a thing quite rare nowadays. With great welcome bonuses and recurring promotions, only sub-par customer support mars PokerStars’ image.
PokerStars game choices
PokerStars is the only sites where offerings outside of Hold’em actually draw players. Omaha and various mixed games both have active player bases. There’s also a staggering array of MTTs and SNGs taking place every day, including some for Omaha.
Other locations where PokerStars operates
There’s also local support for fenced markets in:
888poker
888poker overview
Since launching in 2002, Gibraltar-based 888poker carved out quite a chunk of market share for itself. It even surpassed its closest rival, partypoker. It’s known for offering a stable and consistent array of game modes to both cash game and tournament players. Additionally, it is a World Series of Poker sponsors, allowing their user-base access to WSOP satellites.
Between the best no-deposit bonus on the market, the soft competition compared to giants like PokerStars, and support for browser-based play, 888poker is a solid choice for both recreational and advanced players.
888poker game choices
Standard cash game modes include Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud (each with multiple variants). No-Limit Hold’em is the only format to see action on a regular basis.
As far as regular MTTs are concerned, there are the weekly Sunday Mega Series and the daily Fish’n’Chips and HighRollers, to name some. There’s also several SNGs, including two 888poker exclusives.
Other locations where 888poker operates
Besides the global site, local poker rooms are available in Spain and New Jersey.
Party Poker
partypoker overview
Now, partypoker has had its ups and downs since their launch in 2001. It used to be the largest online card room in the world until legislative changes forced it out of the American market in 2006.
The soft competition and good cashback system attracted hoards of professionals and spiked the difficulty, causing the site to start losing traffic. Things settled down since. Now the poker room attracts many recreational players, as well as a decent number of experienced grinders.
partypoker game choices
Hold’em is king, while Omaha and Stud available but not very popular. However, partypoker offers lots of MTTs for all kinds of players, as well as some sit & go tournaments.
Other locations where partypoker operates
There are local sites for New Jersey, Spain, and France.
Where can I play live poker in Germany?
German poker rooms tend to be way larger than those found in France, but the number of available venues is significantly smaller. All in all, Germany has a total of 158 tables spread across 26 different venues. Below is a list of what we feel are the most interesting places to play:
- Casino Flensburg Poker (Süderhofenden 16, 24937 Flensburg)
- Casino Kiel Poker (Holstenbrücke 30, 24103 Kiel)
- Poker Saar (Fernstraße 51, 66538 Neunkirchen)
- Casino Schenefeld Poker (Industriestraße 1, 22869 Schenefeld)
- Spielbank Bad homburg Poker (Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Kisseleffstraße 35, 61348 Bad Homburg vor der Höhe)
- Spielbank Bad Kissingen Poker (Im Luitpoldpark 1, 97688 Bad Kissingen)
- Spielbank Bad Neuenahr Poker (Felix-Rütten-Straße 1, 53474 Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler)
- Spielbank Bad Steben Poker (Casinopl. 1, 95138 Bad Steben)
- Spielbank Baden Baden Poker (Kaiserallee 1, 76530 Baden-Baden)
- Spielbank Do-Hohensyburg Poker (Hohensyburgstraße 200, 44265 Dortmund)
Germany and poker-related taxes
By default, German residents aren’t required to report any poker-related income. That’s basically all there is to it. If you’re a recreational player, it’s just you, your bankroll, and the rake. Unfortunately, this does not apply to professional players. If playing online poker is your primary source of income, then you must report your poker-related revenue.
Theoretically speaking, this could be perceived as an admission of guilt. However, charging a player for reporting poker-related income would obviously discourage other players from paying their taxes. This is possibly why the authorities choose to behave as if everything is legal.
As mentioned above, Germany has never charged anybody with any poker-related crimes so far. However, that doesn’t guarantee that it won’t happen sometime in the future.
History Of Schleswig Holstein
All things considered, it’s a rather uncomfortable situation. Nonetheless, judging from what happened in other countries where players faced a similar situation, the risk is pretty much non-existent.
History of online poker in Germany
The legal stalemate in Germany is pretty much as old as the game. The Interstate Treaty that bannedonline casino gambling and online poker in 15 German states went into effect in July 2012. It didn’t have any practical impact on online poker in the country though.
It’s also worth noting that German authorities previously tried forcing local Internet Service Providers to block access to online gambling sites on more than one occasion.
Each time this happened, they were essentially laughed out of the court as soon as the ISPs reminded them that, according to German regulations, telecommunication companies are not responsible for the content they provide.
The Schleswig-Holstein regulations were introduced in February 2013, following a year-long legislative effort. Virtually every operator interested in obtaining a Schleswig-Holstein license applied for it as soon as the new law was on the books. Each license was issued for six years, which means sites will need to renew in early 2019.