Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder

The Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) is the joint authority of the German states, set up on 1 July 2021 with its seat in Saxony-Anhalt; it works from Halle (Saale). The states have handed the GGL supervision of online gambling offered across several states. Since 1 January 2023 the GGL has granted permits for virtual slot games, online poker, and online sports and horse betting, and it runs the LUGAS supervision system and the official Whitelist of permit holders, which slot and poker advertising refers to.

A permit is valid in all states, their number is not capped, and each is generally granted for one game form. The GGL also approves each slot game separately from a version of it, and each poker variant from its rules. A slot stake is at most one euro, a cap the authority can change; a round lasts at least five seconds on average, with no jackpots or autoplay, and only one game runs at a time. In poker only people play against each other, the authority caps tournament fees and may allow up to four tables at once. Sports bets are offered by types and markets approved in advance or from the authority's lists if it has not objected within two weeks, and horse betting also needs a bookmaker or totalisator permit. Online casino table games are licensed by the states themselves: as of May 2025 Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria had granted 5 concessions. The GGL also grants permits for nationwide social lotteries, class lotteries and lottery brokerage across several states.

A permit runs for 5 years and a follow-up one for 7; the term can be shorter in justified cases, and before a follow-up the authority checks the applicant again. The grant fee is set on each year's stakes: up to €40 million 0.2% (at least €100), up to 65 million €80,000 plus 0.16% over 40 million, up to 130 million €120,000 plus 0.1% over 65 million, above that €185,000 plus 0.06% over 130 million; later years cost 10% less, a brokerage permit half as much, and supervisory orders cost €500 to €500,000. The open-ended bank guarantee is at least €5 million per permit; the authority can raise it to the expected average monthly turnover, up to €50 million. LUGAS central files cost 0.389 cents per query, the operator pays for its Safe-Server, and the applicant pays for expert review of its concepts and for translations. Slots and poker carry their own taxes, which may be passed on to customers.

The applicant is based in the EU or EEA; a company from outside Germany names a representative there and attaches its home-country gambling permit, and every applicant registers its business in Germany. It provides details of holders of more than 5%, an auditor's proof of own funds, a separate account for player funds, an ISO 27001 certificate, yearly checks of random number generators and the security concept by experts, protection against VPN circumvention of geo-blocking, an anti-money-laundering officer, a payment account in Germany or at an EU bank, and bookkeeping in Germany. The website runs on a .de domain and in German; before the grant, the operator signs the LUGAS central files contract and connects to the OASIS player exclusion file. Each player sets a deposit limit shared by all operators, generally no more than €1,000 a month; the activity file blocks play with two operators at once, and a player is set inactive 30 minutes after the last input. The operator reports to the authority every year, updates its advertising concept every two years, and slot and poker advertising on broadcast and online media runs from 21:00 to 6:00.