If you want to organize commercial games with the possibility of winning (e.g. games of skill), you need a permit from the responsible authority. To obtain this permit, you must submit a clearance certificate from the Federal Criminal Police Office. You must apply for this.

The clearance certificate is issued to the manufacturer of a game if it is a gaming device that is produced in series. He will then receive a copy of the clearance certificate for each replica of the gaming device. In all other cases, it is issued to the organizer of the game. The clearance certificate contains the following information:

• Name of the game
• Company name and registered office of the manufacturer or name, date of birth, place of birth and place of residence of the game organizer
• Description of the game and the course of the game, if necessary with illustrations and general drawings
• Rules of the game and prize schedule
• List of places where you are allowed to organize the game
• period of validity of the clearance certificate
• any ancillary provisions

Note: Clearance certificates can also be issued for a limited period or subject to conditions.

Requirements:

The competent body can only issue a clearance certificate if the game to be checked is a game of skill and not a game of chance. A game of skill exists if, according to the gaming device and the rules of the game, the player can determine the outcome of the game with a high degree of probability through skill.

If the gaming device is to be mass-produced, it must be ensured that the replicas conform to the sample tested by the Federal Criminal Police Office.

The clearance certificate will be refused if

• there is a risk that the player will suffer unreasonably high losses in a short period of time, or
• the game can be operated as an unauthorized game of chance within the meaning of Section 284 of the Criminal Code (StGB) by modifying the conditions of the game or by modifying the gaming equipment by simple means. This is particularly the case if
  • the game is a card, dice or ball game derived from a game of chance within the meaning of Section 284 of the Criminal Code, or
  • the game cannot be operated economically according to the conditions submitted for examination.