Germany’s online gambling market operates under the Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV 2021) and is supervised (for cross-state online gambling) by the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL). The whole point of the framework is channelisation (moving players into legal offers), but with strong player protection baked in – limits, checks, and advertising rules that directly shape what a “welcome bonus” can realistically look like.

If you’re looking to play online poker in Germany, the good news is that it’s legal on platforms that hold a German permit under the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021 (GlüStV 2021) and are listed on the regulator’s official whitelist.

Germany’s online gambling market is tightly regulated, and the only way to know whether a casino is truly legal under the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag (GlüStV) is to check whether it appears on the official GGL Whitelist.

Germany’s deposit limits apply across all licensed operators, meaning that even if you play on multiple platforms, your total deposits cannot exceed €1,000 per month. The system is centralized, with the LUGAS monitoring database and the German Gambling Supervisory Authority (GGL) tracking player deposits to ensure compliance.