Germany Raises the Online Slots Max Stake Per Spin from 1 to 5 Euros

From the 1st of July, the maximum stake for slots in Germany has been raised from €1 to €5. Since Germany legalized online casinos back in 2021 with the Interstate Treaty on Gambling, this is the first time that they have exercised a clause that allows the stake to be changed. Germany, up until now, had some of the most restrictive conditions for online slots play, ranging from the maximum stake to an outright ban on any kind of progressive jackpot.

This development came shortly before the GGL, the German gaming authority, released its activity report for 2025. And it was no coincidence. For the report detailed the importance of fighting the illegal black market in Germany. The authority blocked over 1,800 sites, reviewed over 2,600 and on the regulated side of things, processed just under 150 license amendments and applications. The estimate put the black market at around 23% of the entire share of the German iGaming space. A figure that industry experts, and not official sources, state is a lot higher.

New German Caps for Online Slots

The Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) raised the maximum limit for online slots, doing so quietly on July 1 without any official announcement. This move did not require an amendment to the Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021), because there was an article in the document that allowed the GGL to change this maximum stake cap if the situation demanded it. And now it has.

Section 22a(7) of the GlüStV 2021, which regulates online slots, states:

“Der Einsatz darf einen Euro je Spiel nicht übersteigen. Die für die Erlaubniserteilung zuständige Behörde kann zur Erreichung der Ziele des § 1 den Höchsteinsatz je Spiel nach Satz 1 an geänderte Verhältnisse anpassen.“

Translated, that reads:

“The stake may not exceed one euro per game. The authority responsible for granting the licence may adjust the maximum stake per game specified in sentence 1 to changed circumstances in order to achieve the objectives of Section 1.”

Scrapping this 1 Euro maximum stake per spin, the new limits will be the following:

• €3 for players aged over 21
• €5 for 21+, who have shown no indicators of harmful gambling activity in a 90-day assessment period

Entain, a key operator in the German iGaming space with its bwin brand, welcomed the change, expressing how this could help channel players back to regulated sites.

Landbased vs Online Slots Regulations

The Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 does not apply to landbased casinos. Germany has a dual regulatory system, whereby the online gambling is regulated at a federal-state level (hence, “interstate” treaty), and the landbased sector is regulated on a state-by-state basis. So this new slots max win cap does not apply to any of the German landbased casinos.

The GGL is responsible for online sports betting, online slots, poker, horse racing, and nationwide lottery brokers and social lotteries. The German states are responsible for the casinos, gaming halls, retail betting shops and land-based lottery products. So it has different authorities in Bavaria, Berlin and the North Rhine-Westphalia regions, among others.

Online slots now have a maximum cap of €3 and €5, depending on the player’s account and activity. But there are further laws that restrict the slots gameplay mechanisms significantly, and they are not too dissimilar from state-regulated land-based slots.

Online slots

• €3 / €5 max stake
• Jackpots, linked and progressive, are forbidden
• Max 5 seconds per spin
• Autoplay is forbidden
• Players cannot play multiple games at the same time
• Promotional features and bonuses are restricted

Landbased slots

• Max stakes can vary
• Jackpots are mainly forbidden
• 5 second slot spin rounds
• Autoplay is forbidden
• Bonus features and max win must comply with local laws

German Struggles with Black Market

Official sources put the onshore channelization rate at 77%, according to figures released in March. Commissioned by the GGL, this was estimate was made by Blockchain Research Lab gGmbH, and was conducted in two parts. The first, using web traffic analysis, behavioral data, and proxy variables, and the second part uses a survey of 2,000 randomly selected gamblers. The problem with such studies being, that where there is a small pool of data collected (only 2,000 users), scaling this to nationwide figures carries a lot of assumptions. The greatest being that Germany’s black market took around €547 million in GGR from an industry that has been valued at €14.4 billion. That is, around 3.78% of the total revenue volume.

An independent study commissioned by Sport1 Medien AG and conducted by the Handelsblatt Research Institute found that the black market holds over 50% of the market share. Among online slots, the discrepancy was even more alarming, with an estimated share of 80% going to the black market. This figure has also been accepted by German courts and other independents, indicating a massive underestimation (or simply an oversight) on the GGL’s behalf.

Similar Scenarios Nearby

Germany is not the only jurisdiction that is fighting a (seemingly) uphill battle against the iGaming black market. Just recently, the Dutch authority confirmed that the black market had overtaken the regulated space. It stated that channelization figures, by number of players, was still heavily in favor of the regulated market. But the regulated space was losing higher value players to the black market. The Netherlands, where:

• There are tight monthly deposit limits
• Rigorous operator intervention strategies
• Completely forbidden promo types like cashback
• Age-restricted bonuses and advertising

On the subject of bonuses, the Dutch KSA bans operators from offering bonuses to younger age-tiered gamers (aged 18-23), but it is not considering making an outright ban on bonuses, extending these bans to players aged 24 and over. Another nearby country that is struggling with its black market is Austria.

The country has held a state-run gambling monopoly in both the landbased and online spaces, but the end of the monopoly is nigh. The government has long discussed the potential ending of the Austrian gambling monopoly, especially now as the Win2Day provider’s license will expire in 2027. A leaked draft earlier in the year suggested they may continue the monopoly, but after significant backlash, it seems the Austrian authorities are finally seeking to end it.

A more recent draft shows what an open Austrian iGaming market may look like, and there are similarities to Germany. These include:

• €1,680 weekly deposit limits for players 26+. €250 weekly for players aged 18-25
• Slots stakes capped at €2 and max win per round capped at €2,000
• Absolute ban on jackpot games
• Mandatory 15 minute cool off after every 90 minutes of gaming

A study at the beginning of the year suggested that Austria’s black market accounts for 71% of the total sector. The authority has not released any reports or studies to back that (or preferably, to deny the excessively large estimate).

How New Slot Max Stakes May Help

This development in Germany is not just important for the country, but for Austria, and any other jurisdictions that either have or are considering making max stakes on any iGaming products. The Dutch black market figures are the perfect explanation for this. The countries that introduce measures to curb high stakes gaming are more likely to lose these high value players to the black market. Even looking at those onshore channelization figures – who is to say there aren’t players who use regulated sites, and then simply take their business to black market operators once they hit their deposit or allowed spending limits?

Deposit limits, maximum stake caps, and any kind of intrusive monitoring structures risk turning these high rollers away. Just look at the UK, where there are affordability checks for players hitting thresholds, and now the UKGC has launched its controversial Financial Risk Assessments program. The FRA was in a pilot phase for a year, and was criticized by industry insiders, yet the UKGC still launched it. Basically, this is a form of credit auditing that operators must do on players who hit specific milestones. Using third-party financial auditors, they can check whether players defaulted on a loan, have any bankruptcy records, and other areas of their personal credit ratings.

Germany extending its slots max stake is not the answer, alone, but it does signal a shift against regulating online casinos too much at the player’s expense.