In response to widespread confusion among the public about the definition of legal online casinos, the German Gambling Authority (GGL) recently published a detailed FAQ, focusing on clarifying the legal distinctions and regulatory divisions between "online casinos" and "virtual slot machines" under the framework of the 2021 "National Gambling Treaty".
GGL stated that this action aims to address the ongoing misleading advertising and terminology confusion in the market, especially the misuse of the "online casino" label by some unlicensed operators to mislead consumers.
According to current law, "online casinos" refer to virtual table games including roulette, blackjack, and baccarat. The licensing and regulatory authority for these games belongs to the individual federal states of Germany, not the GGL. For example, as of May 2025, only Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria have issued legal online casino licenses, and currently, only five operators have been granted permission nationwide.
In contrast, virtual slot machines (the online version of traditional slot machines) are directly approved and regulated by the GGL. Although these games are commonly referred to as "online casinos" on the internet, according to regulations, operators authorized by the GGL are not allowed to use this term to avoid confusion about legality.
GGL pointed out that illegal websites often mislead players into participating in illegal gambling by blurring terminology boundaries and mimicking the interfaces of legal operators. Such actions not only pose risks to fund security, data leakage, and game fairness but also may lead users to bear legal responsibilities for violating German gambling laws.
To assist the public in identifying legitimate platforms, GGL specifically emphasized the use of its official website's whitelist, which lists all licensed operators and the scope of services they are authorized to provide.
A GGL spokesperson stated: "We notice that there are still a large number of unlicensed platforms posing as legal operators in the market. Through this interpretation, we hope to help users establish basic judgment and ensure their participation in online entertainment activities within a legal and regulated framework."
