Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder

What this authority does

Germany's online market is governed by the Interstate Treaty on Gambling, which took effect on 1 July 2021 and for the first time allowed online slots and online poker to be licensed nationally. Supervision was handed to a new joint body of the sixteen states, the GGL, which took over the remaining powers from individual state authorities and became fully operational at the start of 2023.

The German framework is restrictive in ways that shape the product itself rather than just the paperwork. Stakes on virtual slot machine games are capped, autoplay is not permitted, there is a mandatory pause between spins, live casino and online table games are not covered by the federal licence, and a cross-operator deposit limit is enforced through a central system known as LUGAS, so a customer's monthly limit applies across every licensed site rather than per account.

Because online table games sit outside the treaty licence and remain a matter for individual states, Germany is one of the few large markets where part of the casino product is licensed and part of it is not. The GGL's enforcement work is correspondingly focused on the unlicensed sector, including payment blocking and action against affiliates.

Licences it issues

• Virtual slot machine games
• Online poker
• Sports betting

What supervision concentrates on

• Licensing of online slots, poker and betting
• Cross-operator deposit limit (LUGAS)
• The OASIS exclusion register
• Blocking and payment-blocking measures

Markets on file under this authority