PayPal German Gambling Crackdown

By Simon Wright, Last updated Feb 4, 2021

Bad news for German online gamblers as it transpires that PayPal, the popular ewallet, is to stop providing their payment services when it comes to online gambling sites. With Paypal in Germany planning to enforce restrictions with regards making payment to and from gambling sites on the 21st October.

It is being widely reported that PayPal Germany have made amendments to their T & C’s which introduce stricter controls concerning online gambling transactions. With several sites such as Calvin Ayre, reporting that a directive came from the German government, for paypal to cease facilitating gambling transactions.

PayPal’s updates to their Terms of Services and conditions of use in Germany, which can be accessed here, were published on the 19th August. Term 9.1 clearly states the following: “In the list of prohibited activities of paragraph 9.1. In our PayPal Terms of Use, we have – essentially clarifying – the new Subclause 9.1.ii. inserted:

ii. Use of the PayPal Services in connection with offers that are not legal in your respective whereabouts, including some online gambling offers. If you are unsure as to whether or not a specific offer at your place of residence is legal, you must ensure that you are legal before using the PayPal Services in connection with the offer;

We have adapted the numbering of the following subsections accordingly; for the remainder, item 9.1 remains. unchanged.”

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