Casino licence in Germany: what it means for withdrawals

A German casino licence is a permit from the competent authority under the 2021 Interstate Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV 2021); whether an online operator holds one is shown only by the official whitelist of the GGL, the joint gambling authority of the German states (legal texts as of 06.10.2026). None of the five brands whose withdrawals this site documents names a German permit in our sources.

If you are blocked through the OASIS self-exclusion system and want to know how to have a casino self-exclusion lifted, our guide to player exclusion in Germany covers that. Here we cover how to recognise a German licence, what playing without one means legally and what that means for withdrawals.

Please bear in mind: this is a summary of legal texts and statements by public authorities, not legal advice. In a specific case, contact a consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale) or a lawyer.

What a German casino licence is

Permit requirement. § 4(1) GlüStV 2021 (gesetze-bayern.de, retrieved 06.10.2026) provides that public gambling may only be organised or brokered with a permit from the competent authority of the respective state. Unpermitted gambling and taking part in payments for it are prohibited.

Which forms of gambling can be licensed online. Under § 4(4) GlüStV 2021, only lotteries, sports and horse-race betting, online casino games, virtual slot games and online poker can be licensed on the internet; all other public gambling online is prohibited.

Slots and „Online Casino“ are two different things in law. According to the GGL FAQ „Was sind legale Online Casinos in Deutschland?“ (retrieved 06.10.2026), the states regulate online casino games themselves, meaning virtual versions of banking games such as roulette or blackjack. Slot operators with a GGL permit may not use the term „Online Casino“. For online casino games the GGL lists five concessions as of May 2025 (Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria). A „German licence“ for casino games on the internet therefore covers two separate areas: GGL-permitted operators of virtual slot games and online casino games licensed under state law.

GGL and the whitelist: what does the GGL do?

What does the GGL do? The Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) is a public-law institution based in Saxony-Anhalt that the German states set up on 1 July 2021, mainly to supervise gambling on the internet (§ 27a GlüStV 2021). In everyday usage, a „GGL licence“ usually means an entry on its whitelist.

Supervision and reports. According to the GGL page on reporting violations (retrieved 06.10.2026), the authority accepts tips about unpermitted gambling. By its own account, the GGL has no jurisdiction over civil claims such as the payout of balances or the reclaiming of losses. For problems with your own gambling, it refers to free counselling by the BIÖG on 0800 1 37 27 00.

Recognising permitted operators: whitelist, .de domain, seal

The official list. Under § 9(8) GlüStV 2021, the competent authority publishes on the internet a joint official list of all organisers and brokers holding a permit and updates it at least monthly. The GGL runs this list as a whitelist with filters for, among others, virtual slot games, online poker, sports betting and online casino games; our last retrieval refers to the status shown there of 02.10.2026.

Domain and seal. According to the GGL FAQ on recognising illegal gambling online (retrieved 06.10.2026), permitted operators use .de domains exclusively and receive a GGL inspection seal. § 6e(3) GlüStV 2021 also requires the home page to state the ban on participation under 18 as well as the permit and the supervisory authority.

• Check: is the operator listed on the GGL whitelist with exactly this domain?
• Check: does the domain end in .de?
• Check: does the home page name the permit, the supervisory authority and the ban on participation under 18?

A licence from Malta, Curaçao or Costa Rica does not replace this entry.

Licence details of the 5 casinos on this site

The „Licence / Operator“ table further down this page shows the sources in detail. Where sources differ, we give both statements:

• Boomerang Casino (operator according to AskGamblers: Luxinero Group): Costa Rica according to AskGamblers, no valid licence according to Casino.Guru.
• SkyCrown Casino: Curaçao OGL/2023/176/0095 according to gambling.com, Tobique Gaming Commission according to AskGamblers, Curaçao 8048/JAZ2019-015 according to Vigiswiss.
• Wazamba Casino: Anjouan Gaming Board or PAGCOR according to AskGamblers, no licence according to Casino.Guru.
• Cobra Casino (operator according to Cobra: Novatrix SRL, Costa Rica): Tobique Gaming Commission no. 0000002 according to Cobra, Comoros (Anjouan) and New Brunswick (Tobique) according to Casino.Guru.
• 7Bit Casino: CGA OGL/2023/147/0081 according to its terms and conditions, CGA OGL/2024/1307/0748 according to its About page, Curaçao and Estonia according to Casino.Guru.

None of these is a German permit. The player protection and payout rules of GlüStV 2021 therefore do not bind these operators as permit holders.

Legal? A criminal offence?

Is an online casino without a German licence legal? According to the GGL, no: all gambling offers on the internet that are not on the whitelist are illegal in its view (GGL FAQ, retrieved 06.10.2026). That also applies when the operator shows a licence from Curaçao, Costa Rica, Anjouan or another country.

Is taking part a criminal offence? Section 285 of the German Criminal Code (StGB, gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved 06.10.2026) states that anyone who takes part in unpermitted public gambling is liable to imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 180 daily rates. The GGL explicitly lists criminal liability as one of the risks for players with non-permitted operators. How prosecutors and courts deal with individual cases is not described in our primary sources; we make no statement on it.

We hold no data of our own on brands outside the five casinos we document; for those, only the whitelist gives an answer.

This page gives no hints on how to avoid blocks, payment restrictions or identity checks, and it does not encourage anyone to gamble.

What the licence means for withdrawals

With a German permit, the operator is bound by obligations under GlüStV 2021 including the following (as of 06.10.2026):

• Withdrawals must be deducted from the player account without delay once the player requests them (§ 6b(2)).
• Player balances must be held separately from the operator's own funds in trust accounts and protected against insolvency (§ 6b(6)).
• When the player account is closed, the balance must be transferred without delay and within five working days at the latest; no fees may be charged for closure or payout (§ 6b(7)).

The five documented brands are not bound by these deadlines, and their actual payout processing times depend on brand and method.

For withdrawals at Wazamba, AskGamblers gives around 3–5 days by bank transfer and card.

There is also a cap on deposits: under § 6c(1) GlüStV 2021, every player at an operator with a German permit sets a monthly deposit limit that applies across all operators and generally may not exceed €1,000; how this LUGAS limit is checked through the states' limit file is explained on a separate page.

Without a German permit, the GGL's FAQ on risks (retrieved 06.10.2026) lists, among other things, missing player protection, refused payouts of winnings, misuse of data and claims that cannot be enforced; the German original reads: „Illegale Veranstalter verweigern oft die Auszahlung von Gewinnen“ (illegal operators often refuse to pay out winnings). For the case of a casino not paying out, we have collected the documented support channels of the five brands.

Payment channels. Under § 9(1) no. 4 GlüStV 2021, the supervisory authority may, after notification, prohibit banks and payment service providers from taking part in payments for unpermitted gambling and in payouts from it. Whether this affects particular payment methods at online casinos is not stated in the legal texts.

Reclaiming losses

Whether players can reclaim losses from operators without a German permit under civil law is the subject of the leading-decision procedure I ZR 216/25 at the Federal Court of Justice (BGH): the hearing was scheduled for 17.09.2026 (press release 086/2026); a decision is pending, as of 06.10.2026. The legal position, sources and contacts such as a consumer advice centre or a lawyer are on the page reclaiming casino losses.