The Best Online Casinos in Germany – Safe German Operators + Top Bonuses

On this page, most of the information is focused on online casinos in Germany, but we do have a section for land-based casinos if that is what you are looking for. Otherwise, read on to find out which sites performed best in our thorough tests.

The Results of Our Tests: The Top 10 Casinos in Germany

Whenever we put together a list of recommendations, we make sure to review and rate all of the options, so that we can give players the optimal selection. All of the top online casinos Germany that made the list below have been tested extensively by our team and have proven themselves to be trustworthy and to offer their players an excellent experience.

Each of these top online casinos Germany houses hundreds of top-quality games as well as employing the latest encryption and IT security software to make sure that you are always safe when playing those products. In addition, these brands offer some generous bonus offers to sweeten the offering a little bit more.

Best Online Casino for German Players at a Glance – 2024‘s Test Winner

While all of our top picks performed very well in our reviews, there was, of course, one site that outstripped the competition when judged against our criteria. So, we would like to introduce you to our test winner.

This brand is a true all-rounder. It performed well in every category of our test. As such, we are confident that it will leave a smile on your face if you choose to play there. If you want to find out more about how we picked our top sites, keep reading.

A Guide to the Best Casino Sites in Germany

The first thing that we look at with any gambling site is safety. This should always be the number one priority, as nothing else really matters if you are playing at a rogue, fraud, illegal and untrustworthy site.

You can rest assured that we never recommend a site unless we have tested it ourselves and found it to meet our stringent requirements in terms of player safety and internet security. There are numerous things to look as well as safety, so let us run through the most important to give you an overview.

Each of these criteria is important. A site is only world-class and worth your time and money if it excels in each area. But, even if it does not score so highly on one criterion, we urge you to remember that any operator should at least guarantee your safety when gambling online in Germany. This is a bare minimum requirement for good online casinos in Germany.

Along with safety, it is important to ensure that your chosen brand is working in line with German gambling laws. Knowing that is goes a long way to feeling confident that you are accessing a legitimate and approved site. There is nothing worse than playing on an untrustworthy website.

1. Safety and Scam Protection for Real Money Players

When you are playing real money Germany online casino games, it is key that you know that you are not paying your cash into a site that cannot be trusted. There are a number of things that you can check in order to ensure that you are not putting your money and personal info at risk.

The first is to review whether the operator holds valid gaming licences. Germany does not currently have a national regulator, so you do have to look into the situation overall, rather than rely on one specific organization, but this does not take too long, and doing so will help you ensure that you are playing at safe online casinos Germany.

Operators can obtain a gambling licence from the state of Schleswig Holstein. You can read more about this here. Alternatively, you can check that the company is licensed by a trusted authority such as Great Britain’s Gambling Commission or the Malta Gaming Authority.

Below, you can see a list of some of the most popular safe online Germany casinos. Each of these sites holds valid gaming licences from reputable regulators. While this does not mean that you are covered by the protection of these organisations while in Germany, it does speak to the quality of the company’s operation and to the player protection measures in place.

Safest Online Casinos in Germany:

• Merkur Slots
• bet-at-home
• Wildz
• Lapalingo
• Wheelz
• Lowen Play
• Lord Lucky
• LeoVegas
• Winfest
• Jokerstar

It may not seem like the most interesting thing to do when you are considering one of the best online casinos in Germany, but it is important to take the time to check the safety of a site. When you take our recommendations for the 10 best casinos in Germany, you know that we have checked the sites for you. But we still recommend that you double check for your own peace of mind.

2. Secure Payments – Making Deposits and Withdrawals Safely

Another huge part of ensuring that your personal and financial information is safe is by only using trusted and respected payment methods. If you stick with services that you know and with which you are comfortable, then you are in a much better position than if you use unfamiliar ones. Thankfully, the best German casinos accept many major payment methods.

Not every method will be accepted by every site, of course, so if you have a strong preference for using one particular service, then you should bear this in mind when you are choosing your operator. However, all sites that are worth their salt will offer deposits and withdrawals with a wide range of methods, giving you lots of options.

Another thing to be aware of is the fact that many casino bonuses in Germany exclude certain payment methods. This means that, if you wish to accept the welcome offer, you may not be able to make your qualifying deposit using some services. This most commonly concerns eWallets, though may extend to credit and debit cards.

2.1. Neteller: Our Recommended Payment Method

While there are many great payment options on the market and lots of these are accepted by numerous operator sites, we do have a recommendation for you to consider using when playing real money Germany online casino games. If you use Neteller at casinos sites, you do not have to share your bank details with the operator site.

Instead, you simply need the email address and password associated with your Neteller account. This keeps an extra layer of security between some of your sensitive data and the gambling company. And extra security and safety is always a good thing in our books.

Unfortunately, not all sites accept Neteller. Though, if you are looking for an alternative eWallet, then you might consider Skrill, which functions in much the same way. Otherwise, you will still find that most top German casinos accept major credit cards and bank transfers at the very least.

2.2. Limits and Fees

Another thing to consider when you are figuring out which payment services you wish to use when playing at online casinos Germany is which methods will incur charges when you make deposits or withdraw funds. You will see in the table below that this differs between the various different payment methods.

As well as the various fees that you might have to pay, the different methods have different processing times that you should know in order to take into account, especially when making withdrawals.

3. Reliable and Professional Customer Support

We are confident that if you stick to playing at the best Germany online casinos that you will run into very few issues. These are excellent sites that look after their customers well. But sometimes things do go wrong. And it is important to know that you can reach out to customer services when needed.

Getting in touch with these operator sites is pretty easy, with various different contact methods available. Many sites have live chats available at all times of day and night, there are often hotlines, although these are usually only open during regular business hours. Alternatively, you can almost always email the operator’s customer service team with questions, comments or complaints.

The country online casino sites with the best customer service:

• Merkur Slots
• Jokerstar
• Wheelz
• LeoVegas
• Lapalingo
• Wildz
• Lowen Play
• Winfest

In our experience, using live chats is the easiest way to contact customer care. This is especially true at online Germany casinos where they are open 24/7. The staff at the top sites are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.

4. Fair Bonus Terms for German Online Casino Players

⚠️ * Currently, we cannot recommend roulette or blackjack casinos for German players.

The first thing that you will look at when you see an online casino bonus in Germany is the headline offer. This will tell you what kind of bonus it is – a deposit match, bonus spins or no-deposit bonus – as well as the amount of money or the number of spins on offer. But there is a lot more to a bonus offer than the headline.

If you are looking at a deposit match promotion, you need to consider the wagering requirements, which dictate how many times you must wager the value of the bonus funds that are given to you as part of the deal. As you can imagine, this will significantly affect how generous the deal is. For example, a €50 bonus with a 20x playthrough requirement would require you to bet at least €1.,000, whereas a 50x playthrough would require €2,500.

If you are accepting a deal with bonus spins or a no-deposit freeplay deal, then the wagering conditions will usually be imposed on any winnings that you make while playing with these spins or funds. The wagering conditions on no-deposit bonuses tend to be higher than in promotions that require a deposit.

The last thing to be aware of with casino bonuses is that there will usually be a time limit, before which you must complete the playthrough conditions, or else your bonus will be forfeited and removed from your account.

5. Large and Varied Games Libraries

⚠️ * At the moment, we are unable to recommend table games (including roulette and blackjack), live dealer tables or other types of casino games in Germany.

Online casino games are the main reason why players choose to gamble online. The depth and variety of the games catalogues at the best German online casinos is almost staggering, with most great operators holding many hundreds of great products, ranging from bright and fun video slots to traditional table games and live dealer games streamed in HD.

You will find a decent selection of all of the above game types at any of the top German casinos, but we have picked out the site that we think provides its players with the greatest options in general for particular attention. Have a look below to see its highlights. Click the link to sign up if you like what you see.

A List of the Best Online Casino Games in Germany

⚠️ *At this time we cannot offer table games or other casino game types to players in Germany.

As we mentioned before, any good casino library should be stocked with a diverse range of different game types, affording the players a great degree of choice. This also helps to keep things interesting for loyal players over time. Here is a list of all of the top online casino games in Germany:

• Video slots – thousands of themes and various gameplay styles for fun gaming
• Classic slots – traditional fruit machine setups for fans of classic games
• Blackjack – the world’s most popular casino card game with simple rules
• Roulette – a true casino classic; easy to learn and constantly exciting
• Baccarat – an elegant game that is quick to learn and fun to play
• Craps – the most popular casino dice game, with lots of betting options
• Texas hold’em – the most common casino poker variant
• Three card poker – a streamlined and slightly simplified poker version
• Caribbean stud poker – another fun poker option, popular around the world
• Video poker – quick and entertaining gameplay with lots of variants
• Sic bo – a dice game from China which is easy to learn
• Hi-lo – a simple card game that anyone can play and enjoy
• Bingo – a social and entertaining game that is especially loved by Brits
• Keno – similar to bingo, with players trying to match chosen numbers
• Lottery – chances to win massive prizes in lotto games and draws
• Arcade games – gambling games with a focus on fun and intricate gameplay
• Scratch cards – instant win games with exciting prizes

As you can see, there is a lot more on offer than just slots. Though, of course, slot games will still make up the lion’s share of a Germany online casino’s library. This is simply because this game type best lends itself to variety and tweaking.

6. Oustanding Software from Respected Developers

If you are new to online casinos Germany, then you may not be aware that the operators themselves are not usually involved in the production of the games. Instead, outside software developers design and create the products, leasing them out to the branded casino sites.

This means that you will find many of the same games at various different sites, and almost all operators will host products from a wide range of software providers. The effect is that players can access a diverse list of the world’s most popular casino games at just one site.

One thing to be aware of is that not all top games are available on mobile devices. This is because the games themselves are often designed with laptop and desktop computers in mind, with mobile gaming being an afterthought. This is changing, however, with the best online mobile casino sites now have hundreds of great games to choose from.

What You Need to Know to Legally Play at Online Casinos in Germany

Each country has its own rules, laws and regulations around gambling. Germany is no different, with EU-wide, federal and state laws all affecting the gambling industry and the rights of individual bettors. So, let us walk you through the legal situation for online gambling in Germany in 2024.

Overall, the situation is that German law forbids online gambling across most of the country, with Schleswig Holstein being the only state to have given out legal licences. However, the European Union has strongly argued against the German government’s harsh stance on gambling and the Bloc’s laws do allow foreign operators to trade and work across the continent. All in all, this means that German players can safely access foreign sites based in other parts of the EU.

Gambling Laws and Authorities in Germany

Before 2008, there was no regulation of or law prohibiting online gambling in Germany. This is not that unusual, as many countries were slow to react to and even slower to regulate the growing internet gambling industry. The Interstate Treaty on Gambling (ISTG) was passed, which banned most forms of online gambling across the country in 2008.

All 16 federal states originally joined the treaty, but Schleswig Holstein dropped out of the agreement in 2012, and issued several gaming licences to online operators. Unfortunately for the gaming industry, the state government was voted out of office the following year, so no more licences were granted. In 2018, as these licences expired, the state decided to extend them until 2021.

Currently, no applications are being accepted for new licences in Schleswig Holstein, or indeed anywhere else in Germany. However, this may be about to change. Click here to read more on the future of gambling in Germany.

In the meantime, players can rely on the EU laws and pressure on Germany in terms of gambling freedom. This means that players can safely access online casinos in Germany without having to worry about breaking the law. In terms of checking that a site is legit and safe to play at, it is best to ensure that it holds a valid licence from a trusted regulator such as the Malta Gaming Authority.

Gambling Taxation in Germany

In many countries, you have to pay tax on any winnings from gambling, just as you would on other income. With Germany’s high income tax rates, it is a topic of some interest for many players. However, there is good news here: in Germany and the EU, all winnings made on games of chance are tax free.

This does not mean that gambling in general is tax free. Every bet that you make is taxed by the official national regulators that give out the licences themselves. So, if you are playing at a Malta-based casino site, it is taxed on its income by the Maltese government. But you do not need to pay tax yourself. It is all taken into account by the operator, so you need not do anything.

The only time you would need to declare gambling winnings is if you were a professional gambler and make your living from your gambling winnings. In this case, the money you make would be considered akin to regular income and would be taxable in Germany as such.

This setup is the same across the EU, in which all countries agree that gambling winnings are not and should not be treated as regular income. The onus is put on casinos and other gambling operators to pay taxes out of their profits and income. This arrangement is certainly beneficial to the players.

However, there are many countries that tax gambling winnings. Some implement these taxes in order to discourage gambling, like in Kenya, where the rate was hiked up as an attempt to encourage young players to consider other pastimes and ways of making money. In the USA, it seems as though the reason for taxing players on winnings is more to do with the casinos’ influence and reluctance to bear the full brunt of the taxation.

Most Important Legal Texts About Gambling in Germany

As mentioned before, the most important legal text for anyone interested in the gambling laws in Germany is the Interstate Treaty on Gambling, signed into law in 2008. This treaty was the first attempt to regulate and restrict the online gambling industry in Germany. Until this point, there were no laws that explicitly dealt with internet gambling.

As discussed, above, this law was not the end of the discussion. Schleswig Holstein leaving the treaty did render its power a little moot, as does the stance of the EU, which is pro free business and trade. As such, the legal situation for online gambling in Germany is that of a so-called “grey market”, where operators are not legally allowed to operate in the country, but no player is going to be in trouble for accessing foreign sites.

Differences by State

The only state in Germany that differs from the rest of the Federal Republic is that of Schleswig Holstein. This is the only state to have online casino licences. All other 15 regions of the country are still signed up to the Interstate Treaty on Gambling.

When Schleswig Holstein legalised online gambling in 2012, there was swift and strong criticism from the federal government and from the other states. However, this has slowed and softened over the years. Overall, Germany is slowly moving closer and closer to accepting legal online gambling within the country.

There are some differences when it comes to land-based gambling in Germany, with certain regions being more famed for casino gambling. There are bricks and mortar establishments all over the country, with licences issued by the local and state authorities.

Some of the most famous casinos in Europe are located within the German borders, with a particular love of elegant gambling to be found in the West of the country. You can read more about land-based casinos in our section dedicated to the topic.

The Future of Online Casinos in Germany

At Scams.info, we always keep on top of the developments and changes in the legal landscape in various countries so that we can help you to stay abreast of any updates. In Germany, the biggest thing in the news is that there are plans for a national gambling regulator. The launch took place in summer 2021.

With this comes the prospect of online casinos being legalised across Germany. The details on what a legal online gambling industry in Germany will look like, with the number of possible licences not having been announced yet. As of yet, no details of taxation or of specific regulations have been published. Check back here to see regular updates as we find out more from the German government.

Comparison with Other Gambling Markets

Each country around the world deals with the gambling industry in a different way. There are various countries that have national regulators that oversee a fully legal online casino market. Examples of this include the United Kingdom, where the Gambling Commission is responsible for oversight of a massive online casino, sports betting and lottery industry.

On the other hand, there are countries that, like Germany, do not allow online casinos to operate in the country, but which also do not prosecute players for accessing foreign sites. This is a pretty common setup around the world. There are also a number of countries that choose to ban gambling outright, with prosecutions for offending operators and players alike.

Facts About the German Casino Market

While online gambling may not yet have been legalised in all of Germany, gambling is hugely popular across the country. In 2017, more than 75% of people answered that they had gambled at some point in their life as part of a major survey. Gambling, and in particular sports betting, has a major presence in Germany and is part of normal life for Germans.

In the next section, we’ll talk you through some statistics about the market and the German online casino industry. These facts were picked up by our team as part of the research that went into creating and updating this page.

Gambling Statistics

As you would imagine, given the laws surrounding the different forms of gambling, sports betting holds the largest market share of any type of gambling in Germany. 38% of all wagers placed in the country are on sporting events. A further 34% are placed on casino games, with poker making up 24% of the market.

Football is by far and away the most popular sport for betting, which will come as no surprise to anyone who is aware of the country’s success in the sport, or of the quality and competitiveness of the Bundesliga. After football, the next most popular sports are horse racing, tennis, ice hockey, handball and basketball.

One piece of good news is that the number of people who are problem gamblers is very low. This makes sense, given that gambling online is not legal. There are roughly 350,000 who have some problems with gambling, which makes up around 0.56% of the population. Of this, just over half of those who respond as problem gamblers are categorised as pathological gamblers, which is the most severe category.

As you can see from these stats, there is a large and thriving gambling industry in Germany that is only bound to become more dynamic, especially on the heels of the 2021 launch of the national regulator body. But in the meantime, let’s have a look at some of the land-based casinos that you can visit legally right now.

Famous Casinos

If you would like to visit a casino in person, Germany has more than enough to offer. There are over 50 full casinos in the country as well as many more small slot machine halls, known as Spielotheke. In addition, finding slot machines in some bars and takeout restaurants is pretty common, especially in cities.

Below, we will introduce you to some of the most famous, luxurious and elegant casinos in Germany. As you will see, some of these establishments are steeped in history, but this does not mean that they are stuck in the past. There is a lot for the modern player to find and enjoy at these gambling houses and resorts.

Casino Baden Baden

The casino at Baden Baden is famous all over Germany and is known to gambling enthusiasts all over the world. Opened in 1838 in the beautiful Kurhaus, following the closure of the casinos in Paris, Baden Baden became the number one gambling destination in Europe for the rich.

Its location in a famous and attractive spa town also led to the casino cementing itself in the minds of Europe’s upper classes, especially those who liked to play at cards. It has been one of the most famous gambling and spa destinations ever since, even playing host to the Olympic congress in 1981.

Another interesting piece of trivia about this casino is that Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel The Gambler was inspired by a visit that the author made to the Baden Baden Casino in the Kurhaus. But this is not the only connecting to the arts that the casino can boast, as Marlene Dietrich once stated that it was “the most beautiful casino in the world”. Fine praise indeed.

Today, the casino is as glamorous as ever, with chandeliers and elegant drapery adorning every room in the casino, and in the Kurhaus more generally. There are over 150 games available. A €5 cover fee is charged for entry, though this is reduced to €1 for players who are only wishing to play slot machines and will not be entering the table game rooms.

Spielbank Wiesbaden

The casino is famed for its roulette games, with a special variant that includes bonus multipliers. If you are lucky, you can have your win multiplied up to 5x its original normal value. The multiplier is announced by way of a fanfare – seriously – with the grandeur of the musical salute matching the size of the multiplier.

In addition to this fun and rewarding option, the Casino Wiesbaden accepts the highest stake of any roulette bet in Germany. This is up to €1,000 on a whole number (plein) bet. This puts it in the company of the largest and most lavish casinos on the planet in terms of the size of bet accepted. Yet the casino retains some of the reserved charm and elegance that Germany excels at like no other country.

As you can see in the table above, the casino is spread across a massive property, the old Kurhaus Wiesbaden. In fact, the Kurhaus colonnades, which houses the slot machines is the longest pillared hall in Europe, with a total length of 129m. Overall, the casino is comfortably the biggest gambling establishment in Germany.

The casino has around 200,000 visitors every year. If you want to visit, entry is €2.50 to the table games area but if you just want to play slot games, then it is free to enter. The opening hours for the slot machines are usually between 11am and 4am, while table games are open between 2.45pm and 3am (or 4am on weekends).

Famous German Poker Players

While all forms of online gambling may not be legal in Germany, there is a long history of successful poker players and other professional gamblers coming out of the central European nation. In this section, we’ll introduce you to three of the most successful and best known of the poker players from Germany.

We will focus on the best players who are currently active on the circuit, else we will be here for quite some time looking back at all of the great gamblers from Germany that have ever been. Even limiting things this way, you will see that there is no shortage of players to talk about.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that our guide to the best casinos Germany online has helped you out, shown you some of the top operators in the country and shown you how to go about figuring out where you should play. But we understand that we cannot cover everything on one page and that you might still have some questions. So, we have collected the most common queries and answered them below.

Top Offer for Playing Real Money Games in Germany

There we have it, this has been our rundown of the best online casinos Germany has to offer. We hope that our guidance is helpful to you. Overall, the options available to German players are excellent, with some of the world’s best casino brands on offer. If you would like our recommendation for the top Germany casino online, have a look below. Have fun playing!