Issued: 20th September 2023 | TB-1214
As there is no harmonized legal framework in the European Economic Area (EEA) for gambling regulations, each member state may have its own regulations as well as license requirements.
In Germany, only gambling providers with an official permit may legally offer online gambling; this is regulated by the State Gambling Treaty 2021 (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021, “GlüStV”). Accordingly, any merchant or operator who does not have a German or local license is not legally allowed to offer online gambling services to German customers (i.e., customers located in Germany).
The vast majority of gambling service providers, which are often based in Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar or Curaçao, lack such a national license in Germany.
The activity of these payment service providers offering their services to users located in Germany while gambling, is in conflict with the 'prohibition of participation' in § 4 para. 1 sentence 2 GlüStV 2021, which generally prohibits participation in payments in connection with unauthorized gambling.
If you, as one of Token.io's merchants or operators, want to offer online gambling services to German customers, your customers must be licensed and registered on the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) Whitelist.
This regulatory requirement applies to Token.io as well as to Token.io's clients who have merchants and operators that offer payment initiation services to online gambling platforms for customers based in Germany.
As a result of the GlüStV, involvement in payments related to illicit gambling are prohibited. Accordingly, payment service providers are also prohibited from participating in "payments in connection with unauthorised gambling" according to § 4 para. 1 sentence 2 GlüStV 2021.
The regulator has the power to expressly prohibit involvement in payments without prior recourse to the organiser or intermediary according to § 9 para. 1 sentence 3 no. 4 GlüStV 2021 ('financial blocking').
This means that if a player gambles online without a licence, no official gambling contract is concluded for the player. All deposited and gambled amounts may therefore be reclaimed due to the ineffective contract. This applies to all online casino and gambling providers who operated illegally in Germany before 1st July 2021, as well as to all providers who operate without the required licence. Any losses can even be reclaimed retroactively for up to ten years - calculated from the time when the player first became aware of the illegality of the offer.
Token.io's clients must ensure their merchants and operators are licensed and are therefore compliant with the GlüStV 2021, and are in Germany on GGL´s Whitelist, if they wish to offer online gambling services to customers located in Germany.
The Whitelist is updated on a regular basis. Please ensure that you have the most up-to-date version.
This requirement is effective immediately.
For assistance with the above and other operational aspects of the Token.io Account-to-Account Infrastructure, please contact Token.io Support.