Germany has, like a few other countries, had a difficult affiliation with gambling in the past. The first legal casino in the country opened in the territory of Baden in 1765, and it was at this time that casinos were considered places to drink, gamble and socialise, much like many of today’s establishments. It’s often said that the game of poker derived its name from the German word ‘pochen’, meaning to brag or bluff. However, you may find that playing this game online could be quite difficult to come by. While there have been a few changes in recent years to Germany’s rather stringent laws on gambling, the federal government has held firm against the ever pushing European Union, maintaining its hold on the gambling monopoly there.
However, this is done despite the fact that sports betting and casino gambling in land-based establishments is completely legal, and even more so, a nice source of tax income for the government. In modern day Germany, there are roughly about 50 brick and mortar casinos available to play in and several gambling halls completing the set up. These establishments offer not only gambling rooms, but bars, restaurants, dance halls, and several other entertaining features for customers. They don’t hold too many differences to those found in Las Vegas. Card games maintain strong popularity in the country, as well as one or two table games and slots. Most of the casinos will charge a small entry fee to players, and also maintain a strict dress code alongside. What’s more, anyone wanting to begin playing must also sign a debt guarantee beforehand.
However, while the laws brought in to the country regarding physical casinos seem to have settled nicely in to place, there have been a lot of ups and downs when it comes to Germany’s rules surrounding online gaming. There’s a lot of grey areas in the laws – which is something that can be said about many countries’ laws on this industry – so, it’s difficult to fully say what exactly is legal and what isn’t on the whole.
