Payment Processing for Operators Licensed in Germany

Online gambling in Germany is governed by the Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021, GlüStV 2021), in force since 1 July 2021. The Joint Gambling Authority of the German States (Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, GGL), based in Halle (Saale), took up its full responsibilities at the start of 2023. It grants the nationwide licences, supervises the market and keeps the official whitelist of licensed operators.

Nationwide licences cover sports and horse betting, virtual slot machines and online poker. Online casino table games are left to each state, which may run them itself or license as many operators as it has land-based casino licences.

GlüStV 2021 bans organising and brokering unlicensed gambling, and it also bans taking part in payments connected with it. The GGL can order anyone involved in payment processing, in particular banks and payment institutions, to stop processing payments to and payouts from unlicensed gambling once that offer has been notified to them.

The GGL uses that power. Its 2023 activity report says most payment providers it contacted removed their payment options quickly, and a penalty payment of EUR 25,000 was imposed where one did not. The Higher Administrative Court of Saxony-Anhalt confirmed the GGL's approach in October 2023 (case 3 M 72/23), and in April 2026 the Court of Justice of the European Union held that EU law does not stop a member state from banning online gambling services licensed in another member state (case C-440/23).

For a licensed operator, the whitelist is the document your acquirer and every bank in the payment chain will check. Make sure the legal entity, brands and domains on your merchant application match your whitelist entry exactly.

• Every player has one player account per operator, and no play or payout is allowed before the player's details are verified.
• Payments to and from a player account may only come from a payment account in the player's own name, held at a bank or payment institution subject to German anti-money laundering rules. Anonymous payment methods cannot be used online.
• Deposits are capped at EUR 1,000 a month per player across all operators, enforced through a central limit file.
• A player may not play with several operators at the same time.
• Virtual slots: a maximum stake of EUR 1 per spin, an average spin of at least five seconds, no autoplay and no playing several slots at once.
• Virtual slots, online poker and sports betting are each taxed at 5.3% under the Race Betting and Lottery Act, based on stakes.

Because deposits must come from an account in the player's name, your payment methods have to show who is paying. Cards, bank transfers and open banking payments do; prepaid vouchers and other anonymous methods are out. Withdrawals go back to an account in the player's name as well.

The monthly deposit cap also shapes your numbers. Average deposits are lower than in most markets and volume grows through more players rather than larger deposits, which is worth explaining when you give your acquirer your expected volume and average transaction.

German online gambling is processed under merchant category code 7995. Card-absent gambling on 7995 is a Tier 1 category in the Visa Integrity Risk Program, and Mastercard requires non-face-to-face gambling merchants to be registered before processing. Your acquirer completes both registrations using your GGL licence. Banks in Germany may also decline payments to unlicensed gambling sites, which is another reason your descriptor and website must match your whitelist entry.

• Your GGL licence and whitelist entry, for the same legal entity that signs the merchant agreement, with every brand and domain you process for.
• How you verify players before play and confirm that deposit accounts are in the player's name.
• Your connection to the central limit file and how the EUR 1,000 monthly cap is enforced.
• AML policy and responsible gambling tools on the live site.
• Payment methods offered, expected monthly volume and average deposit.
• Whether you serve other markets under other licences, and how German players are kept on the German licence.

Ecompayer is not a payment provider. You add your GGL licence, company, brands, volumes and payment methods once, and your profile is matched with a payment provider whose gambling programme accepts German-licensed operators. Your account is then prepared with that provider so you can go live and take deposits. Final approval and terms are always the provider's decision.

• Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021 (GlüStV 2021), sections 4, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6h, 9, 22a, 22c, 27f and 35.
• Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, Tätigkeitsbericht 2023, and the official whitelist of licensed operators.
• Oberverwaltungsgericht Sachsen-Anhalt, decision of 26 October 2023, 3 M 72/23.
• Court of Justice of the European Union, case C-440/23, press release 53/26 of 16 April 2026.
• Rennwett- und Lotteriegesetz, sections 18, 38 and 48.
• Visa, Merchant Data Standards Manual, April 2026; Visa Integrity Risk Program, 2023.