Responsible gambling in Germany: limits and help

Counselling helpline

0800 1 37 27 00 free and anonymous, BIÖG

Panic button

24 h § 6i(3), ends automatically

Deposit limit

1,000 € per calendar month, across all operators

Inactive after

30 min activity file, § 6h

Wait when switching operator

5 min activity file, § 6h

Active OASIS exclusions

367,000 nationwide, February 2026

The tools ordered by how deeply they cut

The Glücksspielstaatsvertrag — the interstate treaty on gambling, usually shortened to GlüStV — does not make recommendations. It obliges every permitted operator to provide specific functions. They differ greatly in how far they reach, and it makes sense to meet them in that order: people who start with the sharpest instrument often reject it without having tried the milder ones.

First comes the deposit limit, one number set once that then applies to all permitted operators together. Then the panic button, for a single evening. Then the mechanisms that run in the background and need no operating at all: the activity file and the early-detection system. And last the nationwide exclusion, which does not lapse by itself. None of these requires a justification: nobody has to explain why a limit is being lowered or a break taken, and no operator may ask for a reason before acting.

The deposit limit under § 6c: one figure that applies everywhere

The cross-operator deposit limit is the most effective instrument on this page, because it takes effect before play rather than after it. § 6c(1) sentence 2 sets it as a rule at 1,000 euro per calendar month. Under sentence 6, participation in play is not permitted at all without a limit having been set — so the decision cannot be avoided, only made carelessly.

The decisive word is cross-operator. The limit attaches to the person, not to the account. Registered with three permitted operators, you have one thousand euro, not three. Enforcement runs through the limit file in LUGAS, the cross-state gambling supervision system, which is queried before every single deposit.

The asymmetry of the deadlines is the genuinely protective part of the provision. Under subsection 3 a reduction takes effect immediately and an increase only after a seven-day cooling period. Someone who wants to raise their limit in the heat of a moment can do it — but not today. Someone who wants to lower it can do it now. That week of distance is, looking back, very often the difference.

Increases above 1,000 euro are possible but tied to documentary evidence of income and available only from the age of 21; self-declarations are expressly not enough. The details — which documents count, the one per cent quota at each operator and the absolute ceiling — are set out under the 1,000 euro deposit limit.

The panic button under § 6i(3): 24 hours, no questions

The treaty requires every permitted online operator to provide a clearly recognisable and unambiguously labelled control that locks the account immediately for 24 hours. No question, no confirmation loop, no counter-offer to pause for an hour instead. If you have to hunt for it, that is itself a finding about the operator.

The lock ends automatically when the 24 hours are up. No application to lift it is needed, and none is provided for. The moment of activation is transmitted to the exclusion register under § 8a(4), and the data relating to the 24-hour lock are to be deleted within two weeks of its expiry — so it is a real, recorded measure, and it leaves no lasting trace.

In practice this is the most underestimated tool in the set. It is made precisely for the moment when arguments have stopped working, and it asks nothing of you beyond one click. Where the button sits in an account and how many steps it takes to reach it is a criterion of its own in our tests; the reasoning is under our test criteria.

The activity file under § 6h: no playing at two tables

The activity file works without any involvement from the player, which is why almost nobody notices it. It prevents anyone from playing at more than one permission holder at the same time. Every player has a status in the file — active or inactive — and is set to inactive after 30 minutes without activity.

Switching from one operator to the next carries a five-minute wait. That is not technical obstruction, it is the point of the instrument: parallel play is the configuration in which stakes and time lost become unmanageable fastest. Legally it matters that this cross-operator prohibition sits in § 6h and not in § 22a — § 22a(10) only forbids running several virtual slot games at the same operator simultaneously.

Early detection under § 6i(1): what the operator is obliged to watch

Every permission holder must operate an algorithm-based system for the early detection of behaviour at risk of gambling addiction. It observes patterns of play and triggers measures ranging from notices and direct contact to restrictions on the account.

Two honest qualifications belong with that. The thresholds are not public, and the system is invisible from outside — which is why we record that the obligation exists and do not pretend to grade the algorithm, as explained under how we test. And it is a duty on the operator, not a service you can call on: nothing about it gives you a faster route to help than the telephone number at the top of this page.

It does have one visible consequence worth knowing. Since 1 July 2026 the staged increase of the maximum stake to 5 euros per game requires, among other things, a 90-day qualifying period without problem-gambling indicators and mandatory behavioural monitoring under § 6i(1). Early detection is therefore no longer only a protective mechanism in the background; it has become a gate.

OASIS under §§ 8 and following: the nationwide exclusion

OASIS is the central, cross-form exclusion register under § 8 GlüStV. It is not run by the GGL but by the state of Hessen, represented by the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt, on behalf of all sixteen states. An entry applies to every form of permitted gambling in Germany: licensed online offers, betting shops, arcades and the Spielbanken. § 8(3) requires identification against an official document and a check against the register before participation — on entering the premises in the land-based sector, before the first game of the session online.

The scale is worth knowing before deciding. According to the Regierungspräsidium's figures of 10 February 2026 there were around 367,000 active exclusions nationwide, more than 5.2 billion queries were run in 2025, about 60,000 applications were processed, and roughly 9,000 operators with around 41,000 premises are connected.

A self-exclusion runs for at least three months, with one year set as the default; a third-party exclusion runs for at least one year. Neither ends on its own when the period is up: the entry continues indefinitely until it is lifted on a written application, and only the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt can lift it — never the operator. A lifting takes effect one week after the application arrives for a self-exclusion and one month after for a third-party exclusion. The routes are described under applying for a self-exclusion and lifting an exclusion, and the comparison with an operator's own tool under operator exclusion versus OASIS.

Applications are free of charge for the player under § 8c; only the businesses obliged to run the check pay. Two practical points for English speakers: the process runs in German, and a driving licence is not accepted as identification — an identity card or passport is required. A fully digital application needs a BundID and the online ID function of a German identity card, which is why the paper form remains the realistic route for many people.

Where to get help, and in what language

The counselling helpline of the Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG) is free of charge and anonymous on 0800 1 37 27 00, Monday to Thursday 10:00–22:00 and Friday to Sunday 10:00–18:00. The same body runs check-dein-spiel.de, with a self-test and written information. The line is answered in German.

That language point is worth stating rather than discovering at the end of a difficult evening. Local addiction counselling services — the Suchtberatungsstellen in every larger city — work free of charge, without any report to a health insurer, and in the bigger cities frequently in other languages. It is a fair question to ask when making the appointment, and asking it costs nothing.

The GGL also names further points of contact: bundesweit-gegen-gluecksspielsucht.de, gluecksspielhilfe.de and suchtberatung.digital, the last of which offers counselling online rather than by telephone. None of them charges, and none of them requires a name.

What a relative can do, and what they cannot

The first thing to be clear about is what is out of reach. You cannot set another adult's deposit limit, you cannot close their account, and no operator will discuss another person's account with you. An operator-level exclusion is unavailable to you for the simple reason that you have no contract with the company.

What the law does provide is the third-party exclusion under § 8a. An entry is to be made for people who are at risk of gambling addiction or over-indebted, who fail to meet financial obligations, or who stake amounts out of all proportion to their income and assets. Relatives and other third parties can initiate it, and evidence of the ground relied on must be supplied. The person concerned is given an opportunity to comment before the entry is made, except where they are under legal guardianship, and is then informed in writing about the exclusion and about how it can be ended. A model application form is published by the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt.

It is worth being realistic about what this means for a relationship. A third-party exclusion is not a secret measure — the person will be heard, will be told, and will know who raised it. It runs for at least a year, and when a lifting is later applied for, the authority notifies the initiating third party of that application and of their right to apply for a new exclusion. It is a serious step, and for many families the counselling helpline is the right call before the form.

The wider background on how exclusions are entered, how long they last and what happens afterwards is collected under our OASIS overview.

Step by step

Frequently asked

Sources

1. Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021, § 6c (deposit limit and limit file), § 6h (activity file), § 6i (early detection and panic button) — <a href="https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/StVGlueStV2021-6c" rel="nofollow noopener">gesetze-bayern.de</a>
2. Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021, §§ 8 to 8d (exclusion system, entry, ending, costs) and § 23 (register and data) — <a href="https://www.gesetze-bayern.de/Content/Document/StVGlueStV2021-8" rel="nofollow noopener">gesetze-bayern.de</a>
3. Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt — OASIS, information for players, entry, third-party exclusion and lifting — <a href="https://rp-darmstadt.hessen.de/sicherheit-und-kommunales/gluecksspiel/spielersperrsystem-oasis" rel="nofollow noopener">rp-darmstadt.hessen.de</a>
4. Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt, press release of 10 February 2026 — 367,000 active exclusions, more than 5.2 billion queries in 2025, around 9,000 connected operators.
5. Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG) — counselling helpline 0800 1 37 27 00, self-test and information — <a href="https://www.check-dein-spiel.de/" rel="nofollow noopener">check-dein-spiel.de</a>
6. Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder — further counselling and support services, and the LUGAS supervision systems — <a href="https://www.gluecksspiel-behoerde.de/" rel="nofollow noopener">gluecksspiel-behoerde.de</a>