The German online poker market is regulated since today – Here is what it means for the players

Online poker is now regulated in Germany

From today October 15th, 2020 on the German online poker market is officially regulated. Here is what it means for German poker players and the online poker sites operating in Germany.

The German government already agreed to a tolerance policy on September 10^th. However, it was not made public until September 30th.

“Toleration” in the term toleration policy stands for the fact that a subset of online gambling will be allowed in all 16 German states for the next nine months, as long as poker sites follow the new rules.

Since the new online gaming laws and the consequent changes already came into effect today, German online poker sites were given very little time to implement them, but most of them managed.

Find out below what it means for German online poker players as well as for those, who are residing in Germany.

What it means for the players?

In the infographic below you can see the most important changes for poker player at once glance:

Summary of the changes by German online poker sites 

partypoker has announced on its Discord channel and to German players via email that it is moving to a new partypoker.de website and poker client on October 15.

German partypoker players or residents have to confirm their identity and there are deposit limits in place. Balances and tickets will be migrated.

GGPoker players will have the following unique features & account changes:

• Panic-Button – Players can click the Panic-Button at any time to trigger an instant 24-hour timeout. Doing this will prevent a player from logging in for the next 24 hours
• Casino Games – Players will be unable to access casino games, live dealer games or slots
• Seat Selection – Players will not be able to choose specific seats at cash game tables. You will be assigned a random seat based on the buy-in you have selected. Players will be unable to enter VIP or Short Deck tables until this feature is available for those game types
• 4 Table Maximum – Players will be able to play a maximum of 4 tables at the same time. 
• Deposit Limits – All players will have a deposit limit of EUR 1,000 (USD 1,150) in a rolling 30-day period. Players will have the ability to lower this limit if they wish
• Win/Loss Summary – Players will be shown a summary of their wins and losses when logging into the GGPoker app
• Reality Check – Players will get a reminder pop up to inform them of how long they have been playing after every 60 minutes of play
• Poker Wallet – This will now be denominated in EUR

Identification requirements for German players at all GG Network skins

All GGPoker.de players will be required to confirm their identity by uploading the following documents before they will be permitted to play:

Proof of Identity – A valid Passport, Driving License or National ID card (front and back), showing all four corners of the document. Expired documents will not be accepted.

Proof of Address – A utility bill or bank statement as a proof of address document showing your name and registered address. The document must be issued within the last 6 months. Please, note that screenshots will not be accepted. Online documents must be provided in PDF format and pictures of a paper document in JPEG.

888poker has published an FAQ on their website regarding the changes. The online poker site plans to move all German players to the 888poker.de client. Their accounts will be transferred automatically. The new German 888poker client will implement all restrictions.

The migration is scheduled for November 2nd, which is two and a half weeks after the tolerance policy launch. 888 has already informed German players and residents that the player pool will be segregated.

Unibet Poker has announced that it is ready for the regulated market with all necessary requirements: table cap, panic button, deposit limit etc. It stated explicitly that it does not intent to withdraw from the market, nor launch a segregated player pool.

Run it Once  has published an FAQ announcing its temporary withdrawal from Germany as they didn’t have enough time to implement the new rules.

From today on all German players and residents won’t be able to play on Run It Once any longer. However, this is only temporary and you can withdraw your money at any time.

Your VIP status will be saved as RIO plans on returning to the German market in two months as soon as the next leg of licensing becomes available.