Germany Intensifies Crackdown on Online Casino Payments

Posted at: 07 February 2020

As CorrectCasinos reported earlier, the State of Lower Saxony took actions towards preventing transactions to and from international casino sites and prohibited the popular e-wallet PayPal from acting as a mediator between local players and unlicensed casino sites.

Expectations were the crackdown on operators illegally serving German players is going to intensify.

On Friday, January, 31, 2020, the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior sent warnings to German banks reminding them that they are not allowed to process transactions to international casino sites.

According to the letter of warning, the current prohibition “applies directly and obliges the payment service providers to take appropriate, independent measures.”

The warning comes amidst debates for liberalization of the German online casinos market, but according to the latest information, such a liberalization is still in its early stages, and a final decision is not to be reached in the next few months.

Even if the German authorities make amendments to the Federal Gambling Treaty, and allow international casinos to accept German players, operators will have to adhere to strict regulations aimed at reducing eventual problem gambling issues.

German players will have monthly deposit limits and a reduced max stake for slot games amounting to €1 per spin. Gambling ads will also be heavily monitored. Last but not least, online gambling affiliates may be severely affected by the law amendments. German licensees would not be allowed to place affiliate links and make payments to marketing partners based on the turnover players make from following the affiliate links.

For now, online gambling in Germany remains a grey area at least until mid-2021.