Casinos Without a German Licence: What Expats Should Know

A casino without a German licence is an online casino that is not on the official whitelist of the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL). If you live in Germany, such a site is not allowed to offer you games, and playing there can be an offence under § 285 StGB, even if the operator holds a valid licence in Malta or Estonia. This page explains the law in plain English for expats and other English-speaking residents, then shows the MGA-licensed brands we list and how to reduce your risk.

In short

• Legal online slots in Germany need a GGL permit; the whitelist held 229 permitted websites from 129 operators on 22 September 2026.
• Offshore sites sit outside OASIS, LUGAS and the 1 € stake rule, which also means none of those protections reach you.
• A Malta licence does not replace German permission (CJEU, C-440/23, 16 April 2026).
• Private winnings are usually income-tax free in Germany; the 5.3% stake tax is owed by licensed operators, not by you.

What does „without a German licence“ actually mean?

The German State Treaty on Gambling 2021 (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag, GlüStV 2021) came into force on 1 July 2021. For the first time, it allowed nationwide licences for virtual slot machines, online poker and sports betting. Since 1 January 2023 the GGL in Halle (Saale) has been fully in charge of those permits and of supervising them; it has handled action against illegal gambling since 1 July 2022.

Every permitted operator and website appears on the GGL’s official list, usually called the whitelist (§ 9 (8) GlüStV). Anything not on that list counts as unauthorised in Germany. „Without a German licence“ therefore rarely means „without any licence“: most sites English speakers find hold a Maltese (MGA), Estonian, Curaçao or Anjouan licence. Those licences matter for how the operator is supervised at home, but they give no right to serve players in Germany.

One more detail surprises many newcomers: online roulette, blackjack and live-dealer tables are not GGL products at all. They are „Online-Casinospiele“ under § 22c GlüStV and remain a matter for each federal state, which can run a monopoly (Bavaria does) or grant concessions (Schleswig-Holstein does). So a German-licensed site may legally offer slots but no live roulette, which is one reason some players look abroad.

1. 1
   QU

   Quickz

   €1,150 + 1,111 free spins over six deposits, plus up to 20% weekly cashback

   • Casino and sportsbook in one account
   • Withdrawal limit €5,000 per 24 h and €20,000 per 30 days
   • Free-spin winnings without wagering, capped at €1,000 per stage

   ★ 4.4/5 · Lizenz: MGA/B2C/1118/2025 (Ludaro Limited, Malta)

   Zum Anbieter18+. Wagering 40x deposit + bonus on match stages, max bet €5 with bonus money, min deposit €20, bonus valid 48 h. T&Cs apply.
2. 2
   HU

   Huzzlin

   €1,050 + 1,150 free spins over six deposits, plus up to 20% weekly cashback

   • 10% cashback for everyone, up to 20% by loyalty rank (1x wagering)
   • Deposit and session limits plus reality check in the account
   • Verification required at the latest at €2,000 in total deposits

   ★ 4.3/5 · Lizenz: MGA/B2C/1118/2025 (Ludaro Limited, Malta)

   Zum Anbieter18+. Wagering 40x deposit + bonus on match stages, max bet €5 with bonus money, min deposit €20, bonus valid 48 h. T&Cs apply.
3. 3
   RM

   Rich Moose

   €1,100 + 700 free spins over five deposits

   • 5% cashback for all players, up to 15% for loyalty players
   • Disputes go to eCOGRA as the ADR body
   • Instant Banking, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Jeton, Revolut

   ★ 4.1/5 · Lizenz: MGA/B2C/1055/2024 (Elmst Limited, Malta)

   Zum Anbieter18+. Wagering 40x deposit + bonus, max bet €5 with bonus money, min deposit €20, bonus valid 48 h, max cashout 5x bonus. T&Cs apply.
4. 4
   SS

   Spin Sweet

   €1,000 + 777 free spins over six deposits

   • Free spins in three stages, 1 spin per €1 deposited
   • 24/7 live chat in English
   • Self-exclusion covers this site only

   ★ 4.0/5 · Lizenz: MGA/B2C/1055/2024 (Elmst Limited, Malta)

   Zum Anbieter18+. Wagering 40x deposit + bonus, max bet €5 with bonus money (general bonus terms; welcome terms say €10), min deposit €20, bonus valid 48 h, max cashout 5x bonus. T&Cs apply.
5. 5
   SM

   Slot Mojo

   €1,500 + 777 free spins over six deposits

   • Largest match amounts of the Elmst brands (3 x up to €500)
   • Free-spin winnings without wagering, max €1,000 per stage
   • Only 48 hours to clear each bonus stage

   ★ 3.9/5 · Lizenz: MGA/B2C/1055/2024 (Elmst Limited, Malta)

   Zum Anbieter18+. Wagering 40x deposit + bonus, max bet €5 with bonus money (general bonus terms; welcome terms say €10), min deposit €20, bonus valid 48 h, max cashout 5x bonus. T&Cs apply.

Every brand above is run by a company licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, and none of them is on the GGL whitelist. Their sites are English-only and in euro, Germany is not on their restricted-country lists, and their welcome terms exclude only Finland (operator terms checked on 7 October 2026). Listing them is not a statement that playing is legal for you; the rest of this page explains the risks.

Am I breaking the law if I play from Germany?

Formally, yes, you can be. § 285 StGB makes it an offence to take part in unauthorised public gambling, with a penalty of up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 180 daily rates. The provision applies to anyone playing from Germany, whatever their passport. In practice, prosecutors rarely pursue individual players, but rarely is not never, and the risk exists as long as the law stands.

The GGL focuses its enforcement on operators and payment flows. In 2025, 1,843 illegal websites stopped being reachable from Germany after prohibition orders or network blocks, 178 websites were cut off from payment services, and 254 illegal providers withdrew from the market by the end of the year. The GGL puts the share of play flowing to the legal market at 77% (figures from its 22 September 2026 statement). For you, payment blocking is the practical risk: a card or bank transfer can be refused, or a site can disappear while you still have a balance.

Which licence does the casino hold, and what is it worth to you?

A foreign licence does not make an offer legal in Germany, but it decides who supervises the operator, how complaints work and how far the rules protect you. The table compares the licence types you will meet most often.

Licence	Regulator	Complaint route for players	Practical note
Germany (GGL)	Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder	GGL supervision, German courts	Only this licence makes online slots, poker and betting lawful for German residents
Malta (MGA)	Malta Gaming Authority	Casino first, then ADR such as eCOGRA; MGA stopped ruling on individual disputes on 1 April 2019	EU licence, but Article 56A of the Gaming Act lets Maltese courts refuse to enforce foreign judgments against licensees
Estonia	Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA)	Casino, then ADR named in the terms; the Estonian Consumer Disputes Committee is only for residents of Estonia	EU licence; terms usually governed by Estonian law
Curaçao	Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), under the LOK in force since 24 December 2024	Casino, then one of the seven CGA-certified ADR bodies; the CGA does not mediate individual complaints	Outside the EU; the CGA portal suffered unauthorised access in September 2026
Anjouan	Anjouan gaming regulator	Through the site’s seal, operator has 30 days, then operator-paid ADR	Outside the EU; check the seal ID, not the bare domain

The court position has hardened in 2026. In case C-440/23, decided on 16 April 2026, the Court of Justice of the EU held that Member States may prohibit online casino games, including virtual slots, or make them subject to their own permit, and that a licence from Malta does not replace the German one. Whether a contract with an unlicensed operator is void is left to national law, which keeps the door open for German loss-recovery claims. German courts have generally allowed players to reclaim losses from operators without a German permit (§§ 134, 812 BGB), but every case is decided on its facts and limitation periods apply, so treat this as background rather than a promise.

Which protections do I lose outside the German system?

Protection	GGL-licensed site	MGA or other offshore site
Cross-operator deposit limit	Usually 1,000 € per calendar month in LUGAS; higher only with GGL approval (up to 10,000 €, and up to 30,000 € for at most 1% of a provider’s active players)	None across sites; each casino’s own limit only
Stake per slot spin	Generally 1 €; since 1 July 2026 a tiered exception up to 3 € (21+ only) or 5 € (after at least 90 days of unremarkable play and operator monitoring), limited to 31 December 2027	Set by the casino; bonus rules often cap at 5 €
Self-exclusion	OASIS: at least 3 months if you apply yourself, 12 months for third-party bans	Only the site you exclude from
Panic button	24-hour lock that ends on its own (§ 6i (3))	Time-out tools vary by brand
Slot rules	5-second average spin time, no autoplay, no jackpots, 5-minute break after one hour	Autoplay, jackpots and fast spins are common
Supervision	GGL, German law	Foreign regulator, foreign law

Some expats see the lack of limits as the point. That is understandable if you came from a market such as the UK, but the German rules were written for one reason: to slow down the fastest-losing product in gambling. Without them, the only brake is the one you set yourself.

Pros and cons at a glance

Expats often compare German sites with what they knew at home. This table sets out what an offshore casino gives you and what it takes away, based on the GlüStV 2021 and the terms of the MGA brands listed above (checked on 7 October 2026).

Topic	What looks attractive	What you give up
Games	live roulette, live blackjack and a wide slot range	live and table games do not count towards bonus wagering at the listed brands
Stakes	no 1 € per spin rule, no 5-second minimum, autoplay allowed	faster, bigger play means bigger possible losses per hour
Deposits	the German cross-operator limit (generally 1,000 € a month, tracked in LUGAS) binds only GGL-licensed sites, not offshore ones	at an offshore site, the only limit is the one you set yourself
Welcome bonus	packages above 1,000 € plus free spins	40x wagering on deposit plus bonus within 48 hours; bets with bonus funds usually capped at 5 €
Withdrawals	Instant Banking often paid the same working day, according to the payment pages	capped at 5,000 € per 24 hours and 20,000 € per 30 days
Payments	Instant Banking, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Jeton, plus Revolut or AstroPay depending on the brand	no PayPal, Trustly, Sofort/Klarna or Paysafecard at these brands; German banks may decline payments
Legal position	EU licence with a public register and a named ADR body	the operator has no German permit (offering it is an offence under § 284 StGB), taking part can be an offence under § 285 StGB, and network or payment blocks are possible

The minimum deposit at the listed brands is 20 €, and withdrawals also start at 20 €. The sites are English-only and run in euro, which suits many expats, but it also means every rule you accept is written in English legal text. Read the bonus terms before your first deposit, and decide in advance whether you want a bonus at all; without one, you only need to wager your deposit once before withdrawing it.

How is tax handled for players resident in Germany?

Licensed operators pay a 5.3% tax on stakes for virtual slots, online poker and sports betting under the Racing Betting and Lottery Act (RennwLottG). That tax is owed by the operator. Offshore sites do not pay it, which is one reason their payout rates can look better.

On your side, gambling winnings from private play normally fall under none of the seven types of income in the German Income Tax Act and are usually not taxed. The exception is play that a court treats as a business, as the Federal Fiscal Court did for a professional poker player (BFH, 16 September 2015, X R 43/12). Interest or returns on winnings you invest are taxable in the normal way. If you are a US citizen, remember that the US taxes its citizens on worldwide income, so your German position is only half the picture.

Is help available in English?

The national helpline is run by the BIÖG (Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit, known as the BZgA until 13 February 2025): 0800 1 37 27 00, free of charge, Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is a German-language service, as is the self-test and chat site check-dein-spiel.de. If your German is limited, it is still worth calling and asking; just do not count on an English-speaking adviser.

Tools that work in English include the deposit, session and loss limits inside each casino account, the reality check at the Ludaro and Elmst brands, and blocking software such as Gamban or BetBlocker, which stop gambling sites across your devices. Our page on responsible gambling lists the German services in more detail.

What this means for you in practice

1. Check the GGL whitelist first. If a German-licensed site offers what you want, that is the only lawful option.
2. If you still go offshore, look up the licence number on the regulator’s register (for the MGA, the licensee search on mga.org.mt) and make sure the company in the footer matches.
3. Read the restricted-countries clause. Brands that exclude Germany, such as many Anjouan-licensed sites, can void your winnings later.
4. Set a deposit limit on day one. Decreases at these brands apply immediately; increases wait 24 hours.
5. Complete verification before your first big win. Have ID and a recent proof of address ready; the Ludaro brands require it at the latest when your deposits reach 2,000 €.
6. Treat bonuses as optional. Wagering of 40x deposit plus bonus within 48 hours is hard to finish; read the MGA casino guide for worked examples.
7. Keep records of deposits and withdrawals. They help with disputes and with any later loss-recovery claim.
8. Use one site’s self-exclusion only as a stopgap; it covers that site alone, so add Gamban or BetBlocker if you need a wider block.

For the German-language background, see our pages on MGA casinos, Curaçao casinos, casinos without limits and foreign casinos. How we pick and rate brands is set out on our rating page.

FAQ: casinos without a German licence