November 16, 2024 11:18 AM

Visiting Germany and Want to Play Online Games? - Legal Facts You Should Know

Offering a great deal of natural beauty as well as some of the most historical tourist destinations of the world, over and above reading up on the latest travel tips and news, Germany should be a must-visit country on every traveller's bucket list! For the people who are fond of gambling and would like to indulge themselves while being in the country, they should be aware of certain facts related to the legal aspects of the activity in Germany. Let's go over them briefly below.

If you are specifically interested in playing online casino games, please note that the laws surrounding online gambling activity in Germany are still unclear. While Germany is definitely amongst the countries where you can't host a gaming website, a great multitude of Germans gamble at online casinos operating from other countries, offering their services to German residents. Who knows, if it's your lucky day you might win big like this German lottery player!

Online gambling is extremely popular in the country. There is not even a single German resident who has gotten into trouble playing such games on the Internet. When it comes to the legal battles around online gambling in Germany, they are mostly around the operators trying to offer services to the general public from within the country.

Where should you play online

Anyone visiting Germany and wanting to play at online casinos based outside of the country, should opt for these German online casinos. The present national law of Germany doesn't permit licensing of casino websites in the country, hence the reason why people turn to foreign operators. As these operators don't need to abide by the German laws, they can accept wagers from any German resident.

The most important thing you must remember while transacting with any such foreign operators is that you won't be able to take any legal action against them under the German laws, in the event that you are cheated by any of them. Therefore, it is always better to stick to the gambling portals licensed by reputable authorities in jurisdictions like Isle of Man, Malta, UK etc. These platforms should also be reputed and well-known amongst the online gamblers. The ones listed at the linked-to page above meet all such criteria. You won't be in trouble as long as you stick to these websites, and would always get your dues whenever you win.

German gambling laws are in a state of flux

German gambling laws have witnessed plenty of turbulence lately. The fact that every state regulates gambling activity in its own way adds to the confusion even more. When it comes to gambling, Germany can be termed as a mix of limited state laws and some of the wide-reaching national laws. While some betting activities are permitted in some German states, they are banned in others. Furthermore, the incoming governors don't hesitate and completely reversing the gambling laws implemented by their predecessors.

How things stand today, online gambling is majorly outlawed throughout Germany as far as the operators are concerned, barring 20 or so who offer their services in Schleswig-Holstein. As mentioned earlier, no legal gaming websites operate from Germany and no business can obtain a license to offer such services from the German soil.

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