Legal guide · Updated 9 September 2026
Is Esports Betting Legal in Germany?
Sports betting is licensed. Esports betting is not part of the licence. Here is what that means for you, and where German bettors actually bet.
Written by the eGaming HQ editorial team · Honest about the trade-offs · 18+ · Please gamble responsibly
Last updated: 9 September 2026
Short version: online sports betting is legal and licensed in Germany, but esports betting is not part of the licensed product. None of the bookmakers on the German whitelist will take an esports bet from you. If you want to bet on CS2, League of Legends, Dota 2 or Valorant from a German address, your options are offshore, and that comes with trade-offs you should understand before you deposit. This guide covers the law as it stands, what you give up offshore, and the one esports book we point German readers to. If you want the site comparison rather than the law, go to our best esports betting sites in Germany guide.
TL;DR: Esports betting legality in Germany (2026)
- Online sports betting is legal in Germany under the 2021 Glücksspielstaatsvertrag. Licences come from the GGL in Halle.
- Esports is not a permitted bet category under that licence. No GGL-licensed bookmaker offers esports markets to German customers, including Betway, Tipico, Bwin, Bet365 and Interwetten.
- Betting on esports from Germany means using an offshore operator, outside the regulated system. German enforcement is aimed at operators, not individual bettors.
- Offshore you lose the GGL complaints route, OASIS self-exclusion and the EUR 1,000 deposit cap. You also do not pay the 5.3% wager tax.
- The book we point German esports bettors to is Thunderpick. Crypto deposits only, English-language, German customers accepted under its terms.
Esports-first sportsbook · CS2, LoL, Dota 2, Valorant all year
Visit ThunderpickRead Review →Prefer to stay inside the German licensed system?
Betway holds a GGL licence and operates legally at betway.de. You will find Betway Limited on the regulator’s own whitelist, licensed since March 2021. But it prices no esports for German customers — we checked again on 9 September 2026 and betway.de has no esports section at all. It is a real option for football and other traditional sports, and no help to you for CS2, League of Legends or Dota 2. For esports from a German address, your options are offshore.
The Short Answer
Germany regulates online gambling through the 2021 Glücksspielstaatsvertrag (GlüStV 2021). Since January 2023 a single national regulator, the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), issues every online sports betting licence and keeps the official whitelist of operators allowed to take German stakes.
Here is the part most guides get wrong. The licence covers sports betting, and the list of permitted bet types is built around traditional sport. Esports is not in it. So a bookmaker can hold a full German licence and still be unable to offer you a market on IEM Cologne. That is not a gap in their product. It is the rule. We checked Betway.de again on 9 September 2026: a German licence, and not a single esports market.
What that means for you as a bettor: betting on football, tennis or the Bundesliga with a GGL-licensed book is fully legal and comes with German consumer protection. Betting on esports from Germany means using an operator that does not hold a German licence. German law aims its enforcement at operators, not individual bettors, and we know of no case brought against a person for placing an esports bet with an offshore site. But you are outside the regulated system, and everything below follows from that.
How the GGL Framework Works
Before July 2021, online sports betting in Germany sat in a long-running grey area. Schleswig-Holstein issued its own licences and the other fifteen states tolerated an unregulated market. The 2021 treaty created a single federal regime that all sixteen Länder signed up to, and from 1 January 2023 enforcement moved to the GGL in Halle (Saale).
The GGL maintains the whitelist, polices unlicensed sites, runs the OASIS self-exclusion register and handles complaints. Licensed books must enforce a default monthly deposit cap of EUR 1,000 across every licensed operator a player uses, check every player against OASIS before accepting a bet, offer German-language support and terms, pay the 5.3% Wettsteuer on every stake, keep player funds ring-fenced and run identity checks before withdrawals. All of that is real protection. None of it applies to an esports bet, because no licensed book will take one.
Why You Will Not Find Esports at Betway, Tipico or Bet365
| Operator | German licence | Esports markets for German customers |
|---|---|---|
| Betway | Yes (GGL) | None |
| Tipico | Yes (GGL) | None |
| Bwin | Yes (GGL) | None |
| Bet365 | Yes (GGL) | None |
| Interwetten | Yes (GGL) | None |
If you already hold an account with one of these, it is a fine place for your football bets. It is not where you will bet on esports.
Licensed vs Offshore: What You Actually Give Up
| GGL-licensed book | Offshore book (Curaçao) | |
|---|---|---|
| Esports markets | None | Yes |
| German complaints route | Yes, through the GGL | No |
| OASIS self-exclusion honoured | Yes | No |
| Ring-fenced player funds | Required | Depends on the operator |
| Monthly deposit cap | EUR 1,000 by default | None, you set your own |
| 5.3% wager tax | Charged on every stake | Not charged |
| Payment methods | SEPA, PayPal, Giropay, Sofort | Mostly crypto |
| Language and support | German required | Usually English |
The two lines that matter most are the complaints route and self-exclusion. If something goes wrong with an offshore book there is no German authority to go to, and if you have put yourself on OASIS an offshore book will not know.
Where German Esports Bettors Actually Bet
Thunderpick is a Curaçao-licensed esports specialist. It has been an esports book first since it launched, which shows in the markets: CS2, League of Legends, Dota 2 and Valorant priced all year, not just around the majors, plus smaller titles licensed books never touch. Its own terms restrict players from the Netherlands, the United States and sanctioned countries. Germany is not on that list, and German customers are accepted.
What you need to know before you open an account:
- Deposits are crypto: Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and a handful of others. There is no SEPA, no PayPal, no Giropay. If you have never held crypto, that is a real hurdle, and the steps are below.
- The site and support are in English.
- Identity verification is required before your first withdrawal, the same as any licensed book.
- It is outside the German regulated system. Everything in the table above applies.
We do not put a star rating on an operator we have not taken all the way through deposit and withdrawal ourselves, so there is none here. What we can say is that it is the one esports book we send German readers to, and it is the one that has been in front of German readers on this site longest.
Esports-first sportsbook · CS2, LoL, Dota 2, Valorant all year
Visit ThunderpickRead Review →How to Bet on Esports From Germany, Step by Step
- Set up a crypto wallet or an account with a European exchange and buy a small amount of Bitcoin or USDT. Keep the first deposit small.
- Open a Thunderpick account and complete identity verification straight away rather than waiting until you want to withdraw.
- Deposit from your wallet to the address the cashier gives you. Deposits usually clear within the hour.
- Set yourself a weekly limit before you place a bet. There is no German deposit cap here, so the discipline has to be yours.
- Start with the simplest markets: match winner and map handicap on CS2, match winner on League of Legends. Our CS2 betting in Germany guide covers the markets and the calendar.
Player-Side Rules: Age, Tax, Self-Exclusion
You must be 18. The 5.3% Wettsteuer applies only at GGL-licensed books, so you will not pay it offshore, but you also get none of what it funds. Winnings are not income-taxed for recreational bettors in Germany. If gambling is becoming a problem, OASIS will not protect you at an offshore site: use the operator’s own limit and self-exclusion tools, and the free German helplines listed at the bottom of this page.
What Counts as Esports for the Regulator?
Nothing, for licensing purposes. The German sports-betting catalogue under the GlüStV 2021 lists football, tennis and the other traditional sports as permitted categories and does not list esports. That is why the whitelisted books have no CS2 or League of Legends markets for German customers. Skin betting, in-game item gambling and peer-to-peer cosmetics markets sit in a different bucket again and most are not legal under German law. The esports Germans actually bet on are Counter-Strike (by a distance, with the two Cologne events every year), League of Legends (LEC and Worlds), Dota 2 (the Majors and The International), Valorant (VCT EMEA) and EA Sports FC.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is esports betting legal in Germany?
Sports betting is licensed under the GlüStV 2021, but esports is not a permitted category, so no German-licensed bookmaker offers it. Betting on esports from Germany means using an offshore operator, outside the regulated system.
Why does Betway have no esports markets in Germany?
Because the German licence does not cover esports. Betway.de is a licensed sportsbook and it follows the rule.
Can I use a Curaçao-licensed esports site from Germany?
The sites accept German customers. You lose German consumer protection, OASIS coverage and the GGL complaints route, and German enforcement is aimed at operators rather than bettors. Go in knowing the trade-off.
Do I pay the 5.3% wager tax offshore?
No. It is only charged by GGL-licensed books.
What is OASIS?
The federal self-exclusion register run by the GGL. Every licensed operator in Germany must check it before accepting a bet. Offshore operators do not.
Which esports book do you recommend for German players?
Thunderpick, for year-round CS2, LoL, Dota 2 and Valorant markets and because German customers are accepted under its terms. It is crypto-only and outside the German licence.
The esports book we send German readers to
Visit ThunderpickRead Review →Related Reading
- Best esports betting sites in Germany: the site comparison.
- CS2 betting in Germany: markets, odds and the tournament calendar.
- Esports betting guide: the basics, including legality country by country.
- All esports betting sites: our full comparison hub.
About the Author & Editorial Standards
Written by: Cian O’Rourke, Esports Betting Analyst at eGamingHQ. Eight years covering CS2 and League of Legends betting markets across LEC, LPL and IEM events, with a particular focus on European licensed sportsbooks and the German regulatory landscape.
Reviewed by: Aoife Brennan, Senior Content Editor and Responsible Gambling Lead. Every guide is fact-checked against operator licence registers and reviewed for accuracy before it goes live.
Meet the full team on our Authors page. For our scoring and review methodology see How We Review Esports Betting Sites.
eGamingHQ is an independent esports affiliate publisher. Read our affiliate disclosure, how we review esports betting sites, responsible gambling resources, country availability disclaimer and meet our editorial team. T&Cs apply • 18+ • Please gamble responsibly.
Responsible Gambling — Germany Resources:
No GGL-licensed operator offers esports betting. Thunderpick is not licensed in Germany. Over 18s only. Gambling can be addictive — please play responsibly.
Free, confidential help: check-dein-spiel.de (BZgA / BIÖG) · bundesweit-gegen-gluecksspielsucht.de · free helpline 0800 1 372 700.
