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# Germany's GGL Clarifies What Counts as a Legal Online Casino
- URL: https://www.igamingnews.biz/germany-ggl-online-casino-definition/
- Published: 2026-06-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-12T13:49:33.000Z
- Description: Germany's gambling regulator GGL has clarified the legal definition of an online casino and is pressing search engines like Google to delist illegal sites.
- Author: iGamingNews Editorial Desk
- Tags: Regulation, Germany

**Germany's Joint Gambling Authority of the States (GGL) has clarified the legal definition of an online casino, confirming that the term covers virtual table games such as roulette, blackjack and baccarat that may only be offered under a state-level licence.** The regulator set out the position in a new FAQ.

The clarification matters because Germany's market is split by game type. Under the 2021 Interstate Treaty on Gambling, online slots, sports betting and poker fall under a federal licensing regime the GGL has run since 2023, while virtual table games are reserved for state licences. Operators and players have long found the boundary confusing, as covered by [Gambling Insider](https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/29645/ggl-clarifies-legal-definition-of-online-casinos-in-germany?ref=igamingnews.biz) and [iGaming Expert](https://igamingexpert.com/regions/europe/ggl-rules-clarity-in-germany/?ref=igamingnews.biz).

Alongside the FAQ, the GGL is intensifying cooperation with search engines, Google in particular, to reduce the visibility of illegal operators through delisting and consumer education. It is the same enforcement logic now visible across Europe: define the legal product precisely, then choke the discovery channels for everything outside it.

For operators, the message is to map every product against the German definitions before marketing into the country. A title that is legal as a slot in one framework can be an unlicensed casino game in another, and the GGL has now removed the ambiguity that some had used as cover.