Reclaiming casino losses in Germany: where things stand

Whether you can reclaim money from an online casino depends above all on one question: did the operator hold a German permit at the time you played? Claims in which players ask for their stakes back are based on the permit requirement in § 4(1) GlüStV 2021.

According to our sources there is no final ruling from the Federal Court of Justice yet: the lead case BGH I ZR 216/25 is pending according to BGH press release 086/2026, and the outcome is open (as of 06.10.2026). This page sets out the legal position and promises no result; in a specific case, a consumer advice centre or a lawyer can help.

Legal position: playing with an operator without a German permit

Section 4(1) of the 2021 Interstate Treaty on Gambling states that public gambling may only be organised or brokered with a permit from the competent authority of the respective state (German wording: „Öffentliche Glücksspiele dürfen nur mit Erlaubnis der zuständigen Behörde des jeweiligen Landes veranstaltet“). Unlicensed gambling is prohibited.

The Joint Gambling Authority of the German states (GGL) shows which offers are permitted through its whitelist. According to the GGL FAQ, every online gambling offer that is not on the whitelist is illegal; permitted operators use .de domains only and carry a GGL seal. Check this first, because any claim for losses assumes you played with an operator without a German permit; the criteria are explained on our page about the casino licence in Germany, including the whitelist and the seal.

What counts is the situation at the time of your deposits; the whitelist shows the current state.

BGH I ZR 216/25: lead case, outcome open

In press release No. 086/2026 of 20.05.2026, the Federal Court of Justice announced a lead case on the reimbursement of losses from unlicensed online gambling (German: „Leitentscheidungsverfahren zur Erstattung von Verlusten bei unerlaubtem Online-Glücksspiel“). In case I ZR 216/25, a player is claiming back €10,092 lost between 2020 and 2022 on online casino games with an operator that had no German permit. The lower courts ruled in his favour.

The hearing was scheduled for 17.09.2026 (PM 086/2026). According to our source no decision has been published; as of 06.10.2026 the outcome is open. Until the BGH decides, no general conclusion for other cases can be drawn from the lower-court rulings: there are judgments under which losses were reimbursed, but the appeal exists precisely to examine that line.

The authoritative text is the press release or the judgment on bundesgerichtshof.de; we will update this section after the decision.

Malta operators and instant bank transfer: can you really get money back?

Many operators without a German permit work with a licence from Malta. Under § 4(1) GlüStV 2021, however, German law only recognises a permit from the competent German authority; a Maltese licence does not replace it, any more than any other EU licence does. Whether this results in an enforceable claim is exactly the question in the pending BGH case.

On Maltese rules discussed in forums under the label „Bill 55“ we have no primary text, so we make no statement about them. The GGL points out in general that claims against unlicensed operators may not be enforceable.

Deposits by Sofortüberweisung (instant bank transfer)

With deposits by Sofortüberweisung or bank transfer, the money went straight from your own account to the operator or its payment provider, over the same bank connection that a casino withdrawal by bank transfer uses in the other direction. § 4(1) GlüStV 2021 also prohibits taking part in payments for unlicensed gambling. Whether claims arise from this, and against whom, is a legal question for each individual case; our sources give no reliable statement on it.

Some deposits did not go through Sofortüberweisung but through Trustly; whether that counts as Sofortüberweisung only becomes clear from the payment route. Among the casinos we checked, only Boomerang lists Trustly among its withdrawal methods according to AskGamblers; knowing how paying via Trustly at an online casino works helps you match your own bank entries.

In practice it helps to keep all bank statements with date, amount and recipient.

Operators without a German permit: the risks the GGL lists

The GGL lists the risks of unlicensed operators, among them criminal liability, missing player protection, refused payouts of winnings, misuse of data and claims that cannot be enforced. Anyone who plays there often has a problem not only with reclaiming losses but already with getting winnings paid out.

If your concern is not lost stakes but winnings that never arrive, the situation is different: the steps that help when the casino does not pay out are covered in our overview of cancelled withdrawals, blocked accounts and support.

Credit card and chargeback: context only

A common question is whether a chargeback is possible after paying at a casino with Mastercard or Visa. A chargeback is a card-scheme procedure between bank and merchant; whether it applies to gambling payments depends on your own bank's terms. We have no data of our own and no source on the chances of success, so we give no instructions and no forecast.

If you are considering the card route, ask your own bank first.

Advice: consumer advice centre or lawyer

In a specific case, contact a consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale) or a lawyer. They can clarify whether the operator held a German permit at the time of your deposits, which deadlines apply and what costs arise. We do not quote success rates.

• Collect bank statements and deposit receipts
• Save your account history with the operator (stakes, losses, period)
• Write down the operator's domain and licence details
• Check the status of BGH case I ZR 216/25