Raising the LUGAS limit: requirements, the 7-day wait and what 'limit reached' means

Under § 6c of the German State Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV), a higher LUGAS limit only takes effect after a protection period of seven days, while a reduction applies straight away. Anyone who wants to raise their monthly cross-provider deposit limit makes the request with the licensed provider, not with the authority.

The starting point is the €1,000 deposit limit per month that every player has to set with connected providers and that, as a rule, may not be higher. Without a limit set, there is no participation in play. According to the GGL, increases beyond it are only possible under conditions that go further than a player's own statement.

The sections below cover the waiting period, the €10,000 tier, the role of the GGL, 'limit reached' without a deposit and what the system shows.

IIIncrease after 7 days, reduction at once (§ 6c GlüStV)

The State Treaty draws a clear line between the two directions. Whoever sets the limit higher has to wait: the increase only becomes effective after a protection period of seven days. Whoever lowers it is bound by no deadline; under § 6c, reductions apply without a waiting period. How long an increase takes is therefore fixed: 7 days from the change, whatever the provider. A player who first lowers the limit and later wants to raise it again goes through the 7 days once more for the increase.

To set expectations: a higher deposit limit changes nothing about the rules of play for slots. The maximum stake of €1 per game under § 22a (7) and the minimum game duration under § 22a (6) stay in place. What the 5-second rule on slots means for every single spin is explained on a separate page; legally it has nothing to do with the deposit limit.

The procedure is the same with every connected provider: the player enters the new limit in the player account at the licensed provider, and above €1,000 the provider checks the conditions described in the next section.

No costs arise. § 6c (10) GlüStV states that the licence holder may not charge the player any costs or fees for setting or changing a limit, whether at account opening or later.

When the limit is entered, another rule from § 6c (1) applies: anyone who tries to enter more than €1,000 is asked to correct it. The possible maximum amounts may only be shown to the player at that moment.

IIIRaised limit up to €10,000: conditions set by the GGL

In its FAQ on the deposit limit, the GGL names two tiers above €1,000. A raised limit of up to €10,000 per month requires inconspicuous playing behaviour and documented financial capacity. The authority states explicitly that self-declarations by players are not sufficient. So the provider has to check proof.

The second tier runs above €10,000 up to €30,000 per month. According to the GGL it is open to at most 1 % of the active players per provider. Whether someone falls into this group is decided by the provider within that quota; there is no entitlement to it.

Besides the deposit limit there is a second cap that people often search for at the same time: the maximum stake per spin. Here, according to the GGL, a tiered and temporary deviation from the €1 basic rule is possible from 1 July 2026 under GGL conditions: up to €3 from the age of 21, up to €5 after 90 days of inconspicuous playing behaviour, limited until 31.12.2027. What sets apart casinos without the 1-euro limit and what applies to the stake per spin from July 2026 is covered in detail on the stake limit page.

The protection period from the previous section applies to both tiers of the deposit limit: even an approved increase only takes effect after 7 days. If the provider declines, the previous limit stays. According to the GGL, providers may not advertise that the cross-provider deposit limit can be higher than €1,000; provider-specific deposit and loss limits must be possible at any time and changeable free of charge.

IVWho can change the limit – and who cannot (GGL)

A common assumption is that the €1,000 limit can be lifted by the GGL. The authority clearly says otherwise: a change of the limit by the authority cannot take place. Only the player can change the limit, and only with a licensed provider. The decision on a raised limit lies with the provider alone; the authority has no means of enforcing an increase.

In addition to the cross-provider limit, providers must also offer daily, weekly or monthly stake, deposit and loss limits under § 6c (2). These own limits apply only with the respective provider; once they are used up, no further play is allowed there.

With providers outside the system, the question of an increase looks different, because there is no limit file holding a value. What casinos without LUGAS are and what the limit and activity files record is explained on the page on that topic. For the 5 brands on this site, no source mentions LUGAS by name; on deposit caps the data say: Tsars states no operator cap and, according to LCB, reserves individual minimum and maximum amounts per transaction. Slotum has no fixed cap in its terms; the payments page names EUR max. 4,000 per method. Rabona and Spinsy name no fixed amounts and reserve minimum and maximum amounts. For Goldenbet: no information.

On self-limits, Slotum offers deposit, loss and stake limits per day, week or month, plus a session limit and cooling-off. For Tsars, deposit and/or session limits are named, but the sources contradict each other. According to the AskGamblers data sheet Goldenbet has no limit tools, while the body text of the same page mentions 'account limits'. According to AskGamblers, Rabona and Spinsy offer none of these limits.

VLimit reached: what is counted and when it starts again

Under § 6c (1) the limit is exhausted when the sum of deposits in a calendar month to all providers subject to the limit reaches the amount set. Once the monthly cross-provider deposit limit is exhausted, the law says no further deposit by the player may be made. Counting is therefore done across all connected providers together, not per account. How deposit limit, stake cap and rules of play fit together within the State Treaty on Gambling, and what it means for casinos without a German licence, is summed up in a separate overview.

Which games count is set out in § 6c (9): the cross-provider deposit limit applies to all public games of chance on the internet. The only exceptions are deposits solely for lotteries held no more than twice a week, and prize savings. Instant lotteries on the internet do count, as do virtual slot games and online poker with connected providers.

Before every deposit the provider queries the limit file. If the limit is exhausted or would be exceeded, the provider must decline the deposit under § 6c (6). It may, however, tell the player the amount still available and start a new deposit with that amount.

If the limit shows as reached although no deposit arrived, a little-known rule is usually behind it. The GGL makes clear that failed deposits are recorded too: after a drop in the internet connection, with a blocked payment method or when access to the account fails. A payment that never reached the player account can therefore still count against the limit. According to the GGL, this recording is required by law and cannot be corrected.

The limit starts again 'on the first day of each month'. There is no early release within the month. A player at the cap near the end of the month can therefore only wait, or request an increase earlier so that its protection period is already running.

VIViewing the limit and when it 'doesn't add up'

According to the GGL, only the current data of one month are ever held in the system. Deposits from the previous month and the history of earlier limits can no longer be seen, and the data are only held in pseudonymised form. Under § 6c (7–8), the amount, date and total of deposits are deleted without delay once the month has ended, and master data and the limit one year after the last activity. After that, the limit has to be set again.

The deposit limit also says nothing about stake caps at gaming tables. Which table limits apply at roulette and blackjack is shown on the page on live casino without limits.

If the balance shown looks wrong, the first thing to check is failed payments in the current month, since they count and cannot be corrected. According to the GGL, providers are obliged to set a player inactive on request; often a player is still set as active with another provider, for example through open apps or tabs. For problems with the active status, the GGL can only help with two details: the name of the provider and the player ID, which has at most 127 characters and can be found in the profile with the provider. Even then, it does not change the limit itself.