Poker With Crypto From Germany
Germany licenses online poker under its 2021 State Treaty, and taking part in unlicensed gambling is an offence under section 285 of the Criminal Code.
The short answer
Germany allows online poker only at operators licensed under the State Treaty on Gambling of 2021, supervised by the joint gambling authority of the federal states, the GGL. Taking part in a public game of chance run without the permission of an authority is itself an offence under section 285 of the Criminal Code, with up to six months in prison or a fine. Neither WePlay nor Basepoker names a German licence.
From the sources at the bottom of the page. We are players, not lawyers; this page is what the law and our sources say, not legal advice.
At a glance
- The law
- The State Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV 2021) has been in force since 1 July 2021. It allows licences for online poker, online casinos and online slots, with a deposit limit of 1,000 euros a month, and puts supervision with the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL).
- Players
- Section 285 of the Criminal Code: whoever takes part in a public game of chance without the permission of an authority faces up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 180 daily rates.
- Operators and advertising
- Section 284: running such a game without permission carries up to two years in prison or a fine, and advertising it up to one year or a fine.
- Tax
- A hobby player who plays now and then, without a plan to make a profit, has no taxable income from poker. Poker played steadily, systematically and for profit can be taxed as a business, and the Federal Fiscal Court has confirmed that professional players can owe tax, in a ruling of 16 September 2015 (X R 43/12).
- The rooms
- WePlay's licence is from Anjouan and Basepoker's from Costa Rica; neither is a German licence. Germany is not on WePlay's list of refused countries, and Basepoker's terms name no countries.
A licensed market, and an offence outside it
Since 1 July 2021 the State Treaty on Gambling of 2021 has let the federal states license online poker, online casinos and online slots under conditions that protect the player, among them a deposit limit of 1,000 euros a month. One authority for all the states, the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, supervises the licensed operators.
Outside that market the Criminal Code applies, and it names the player as well as the operator. Section 284 punishes whoever runs a public game of chance without the permission of an authority, and whoever advertises one. Section 285 punishes whoever takes part in such a game, with up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 180 daily rates.
The tax office
German tax law looks at who is playing. A hobby player who plays now and then, without a plan to make a profit, has no taxable income from poker; that is the prevailing view. Poker played steadily, systematically and to make a profit can be treated as a business, and the Federal Fiscal Court has confirmed that professional players can owe tax, in a ruling of 16 September 2015 (X R 43/12).
What this means for a reader in Germany
WePlay's licence is from Anjouan and Basepoker's from Costa Rica; neither is a German licence. Germany is not on WePlay's list of refused countries, and Basepoker's terms name no countries, but both sets of terms leave the law of your own country to you, and in Germany section 285 of the Criminal Code makes taking part in a public game of chance run without the permission of an authority an offence.
We do not give advice on getting around that, and we do not describe VPNs. The licensed German sites are the legal way to play online from Germany. Our strategy pages, the odds chart and the calculators are free to read anywhere.
Time zones
Germany is UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, so a 20:30 start on WePlay's GMT+2 schedule is 19:30 in Germany in winter and 20:30 in summer. The Tonight page shows every start in your own time zone.
What runs tonight at WePlay and Basepoker, in your own time zone.
Sources
- German Criminal Code, English translation, sections 284 and 285
- Glücksspielstaatsvertrag, German Wikipedia (the 2021 treaty, online poker licences, the 1,000 euro limit, the GGL)
- Poker, German Wikipedia (the tax treatment of poker winnings in Germany, BFH X R 43/12)
- WePlay terms and conditions, section 2 (the countries it refuses)
- Basepoker terms of service, sections 1.5 and 5 (the player checks the local law)
Read next
Questions
Is online poker legal in Germany?
Yes, at operators licensed under the State Treaty on Gambling of 2021. Taking part in a public game of chance run without the permission of an authority is an offence under section 285 of the Criminal Code, with up to six months in prison or a fine.
Do I pay tax on poker winnings in Germany?
Not as a hobby player who plays now and then without a plan to make a profit. Poker played steadily and for profit can be taxed as a business, as the Federal Fiscal Court confirmed for professional players in a ruling of 2015.
Can I play on WePlay or Basepoker from Germany?
Germany is not on WePlay's list of refused countries, though WePlay may refuse players from any country. Basepoker's terms name no countries and say that being able to use the site from a country does not make it legal there. Neither room's licence is German, and section 285 of the Criminal Code makes taking part in a public game of chance run without the permission of an authority an offence. We do not describe ways around it.