What are casinos without OASIS?

"Casinos without OASIS" are online gambling sites that do not check Germany's national player-blocking system, OASIS. Licensed providers in Germany must check every player against OASIS before letting them play, so a site that skips the check is, in practice, a site without a German licence. Under the 2021 State Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV 2021, as of October 2026), public gambling in Germany may only be offered with a licence from the competent German authority, and the German regulator says that taking part in unlicensed gambling is itself punishable. We do not list, name or link to these sites. This page explains the system, the law, the risks and where to get help.

What is OASIS and who has to use it?

OASIS is Germany's nationwide, cross-game player-blocking system. The Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), the joint gambling authority of the German states, describes it as an instrument for protecting players and says connection to OASIS is mandatory for gambling providers. Responsibility for the system sits permanently with the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt, which says providers "must check every player via the blocking system before they take part in a game" (our translation).

According to the GGL's overview of player protection under GlüStV 2021:

• Self-exclusion (Selbstsperre) lasts at least 3 months.
• Third-party exclusion (Fremdsperre) lasts 12 months.
• Both are free.
• Licensed online providers check OASIS when you register and when you log in.

OASIS sits alongside other German protections: a cross-provider deposit limit that is generally capped at €1,000 a month, the LUGAS monitoring system that stops simultaneous play with several providers, and a "panic button" on licensed sites that triggers a 24-hour block.

Is it legal to play at a casino without OASIS in Germany?

No. The GGL sets out the position on its page about unlicensed gambling (as of October 2026):

• Licence required. Public gambling in Germany may only be organised or brokered with a licence from the competent German authority. Games not expressly listed as licensable are treated as not licensable.
• Advertising banned. Advertising for unlicensed gambling is prohibited under section 5 GlüStV 2021.
• Organisers commit a crime. Organising unlicensed gambling is an offence under section 284 of the German Criminal Code (StGB).
• Players can too. The GGL states that taking part in unlicensed gambling is also punishable, under section 285 StGB. It does not give penalty levels for players and does not prosecute itself; it can pass suspected offences to prosecutors.

This is a sharper position than in some other countries: in Germany, the regulator's own guidance says the player, not just the operator, can face criminal liability.

Why do people search for casinos without OASIS?

Searches like this usually come from people who find German limits restrictive, such as the monthly deposit cap or the rule against playing at several providers at once, or who have registered a block and want to play anyway. If you are in the second group, the urge to gamble during a block is a reason to get more support, and the help section below is a good place to start.

What are the risks?

• Your block does not follow you. A site outside OASIS does not check it, so the protection you chose stops working.
• Criminal exposure. As above, the GGL says participation in unlicensed gambling is punishable under section 285 StGB.
• Payment problems. The GGL orders payment service providers to stop processing payments for unlicensed gambling. It says this forces illegal operators onto lesser-known payment providers. It reports that in 165 cases in 2024, common payment services could no longer be used for illegal gambling.
• Sites disappearing. The GGL also uses network blocks. It reports that in 2024, network blocks made 657 illegal sites unreachable from Germany, and enforcement proceedings made 459 more unreachable. A site you have money with can become unreachable.
• No one to order payment. If a site points to an offshore licence instead, that regulator may not be able to help you. The Curaçao Gaming Authority, for example, says it "will not resolve or make decisions on any player complaints" about gambling transactions, and does not mediate individual disputes (Player Complaints Policy Guidelines, June 2025).
• None of the German safeguards. No deposit cap, no LUGAS, no panic button, no requirement that payments run through accounts in your own name.

Our guide to unlicensed casino red flags covers the warning signs, and our Curaçao licence explainer and MGA licence explainer explain what those offshore licences do and do not mean.

How do you check whether a site is licensed in Germany?

1. Open the GGL's official whitelist (Übersicht erlaubter Anbieter), published under section 9(8) GlüStV 2021. It lists every licensed provider with its address, game type, licensing authority and websites.
2. Search for the company name or the exact web address you want to use.
3. Check that the game type matches. The whitelist lists licences by game type (sports betting, virtual slot machines, online poker and so on), so a provider licensed for one type is not automatically licensed for another.
4. Check the site itself. Under section 6e(3) GlüStV 2021, as summarised by the GGL, licensed providers must state on their home page that they hold a German licence and which authority granted it.

Our step-by-step guide on how to verify a gambling licence covers national registers, including the GGL whitelist.

What are the licensed alternatives?

If you have not blocked yourself and want to play online in Germany, use only providers on the GGL whitelist. They must check OASIS, verify your identity, apply the deposit limit and offer the panic button. Our online casinos hub explains in general terms how licensed online casinos work. We do not currently publish German listings.

If you have registered a block, the licensed alternative is not to play until it ends.

What to do next if you have blocked yourself

• Talk to someone. The free, anonymous German gambling helpline on check-dein-spiel.de is 0800 1 37 27 00.
• Extend or check your block through the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt, which handles registration, lifting and information requests for OASIS.
• Add device-level blocking. Free tools such as BetBlocker run on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. Our guide on how to block gambling sites compares the options.
• Ask your bank whether it offers a gambling block on your cards, and what it does and does not cover.
• Report an unlicensed site to the GGL through its contact page.
• If you have lost money to an unlicensed site, our complaints hub explains what is realistic. More support is on our safer gambling hub.