Erlaubnis beantragen, Sportwetten durchzuführen oder im Internet zu vermitteln

If you would like to organize sports betting, you can apply for a permit under certain conditions. The permit can be applied for online or in writing.

You can apply for a permit to organize sports betting.
You may only organize sports betting in Germany with a valid permit.
The licensing procedure includes a main application for the general license.
Applicants can be the organizing persons themselves or authorized representatives (internal employees of a company or external parties, for example lawyers).
Permission to organize sports betting in Germany can only be applied for by applicants based in a member state of the European Union or a state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

• Presentation of the company structure
• Certificate of good conduct
• Extract from the central trade register
• Business registration (copy)
• Clearance certificate
• Certificate from the tax office responsible for sports betting tax
• Printout from the joint enforcement portal of the federal states
• Proof of expertise
• Legitimate origin of the required funds
• Certificate from an independent auditor
• Presentation of the profitability taking into account the tax obligations (profitability concept)
• Payment processing concept
• IT security concept
• Money laundering concept
• Social concept
• Sales concept
• Advertising concept
• Description of the information relevant to gambling that is made available to players on the website and how this is presented
• Description of how information is provided on the addiction risks of the sports betting offered, the ban on underage participation and the counseling and therapy options available
• Information on the expected amount of stakes in the Federal Republic of Germany over the next 5 years
• Description of the measures taken to prevent manipulation
• Auditor's declaration on performance capability
• Declaration by tax advisor, legal advisor, certified public accountant or certified public accountant on performance capacity

You must be at least 18 years old.
You must be based in a member state of the European Union or a state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area in order to apply for a permit to organize sports betting in Germany.
In addition, you must meet the requirements of the State Treaty on Gambling of 2021:

• Extended reliability (no unauthorized gambling, transparent ownership and shareholding structure)
• Efficiency (sufficient own funds, profitability, insurance cover)
• Transparency and security of gambling

Permission to organize sports betting can be applied for online and in writing.

If you wish to apply for permission to place sports bets in writing:

• In the first step, complete the "Main application" form.
• In the main application, provide information on the organizer, all authorized representatives and other responsible persons. In addition, information on the reliability of the organizer and information on sales and processing must be provided.
• You must have fully processed your application before submitting it. It is permissible for required documents to be submitted subsequently if they were not yet available when the application was submitted. However, the competent authority can only finalize applications once all documents have been submitted.
• As part of the application processing by the competent authority, you must provide a security deposit of at least EUR 5 million up to a maximum of EUR 50 million.
• After you have submitted the main application, you must submit a subsequent application for the individual virtual machine games. Provide information on the technical access to the virtual machine games and all details (name, type, URL, category and game rules). You can submit the subsequent application immediately after the main application, but no later than two weeks after the main application has been granted.
• Once the Joint Gaming Authority of the federal states (Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder - GGL) has completed its review and approval, you will receive a notice of approval by post.

If you wish to apply online:

• Create a company/citizen account online.
• In this case, you will receive the permit directly via your service account.
• Communication with GGL also takes place via your service account.
• The remaining steps are identical to the written procedure.
• Note: The online service is currently under development and will be made available to you at a later date.

Processing is largely dependent on the completeness and quality of the application documents and the response time to any follow-up letters. The processing time is at least 3 months.

Deadline type: Period of validity

Note (for further information on the time limit):
A shorter period is possible in justified individual cases.

Online services available: Yes

Since 01.01.2023, the Joint Gambling Authority of the federal states has been responsible for issuing online sports betting licenses. The Joint Gaming Authority is responsible for the content, formal review and approval (accompanying specialist authority in the country of implementation).

Possibility of legal action (information on legal remedies is issued with the respective permit)

• Organizing and brokering games of chance Permission for sports betting
• The organization or brokering of sports betting is only permitted if a permit has been issued.
  • The application for a permit to organize sports betting can be submitted online or in writing to the Joint Gambling Authority of the federal states.
• Responsible: Joint Gaming Authority of the federal states

Joint Gaming Authority

Joint Gaming Authority

Forms available: No
Written form required: Yes
Informal application possible: No
Personal appearance necessary: No