Is Buying a Gaming Account Legal?
Short answer: yes. But most people are asking the wrong question. Here’s the real distinction — and what the actual risks are.
This question comes up constantly — on forums, in Discord servers, before every first purchase. The answers people find are usually one of two extremes: “it’s totally fine” or “you’ll get banned and maybe prosecuted.” Neither is complete. Here’s the full picture, without scaremongering and without glossing over the real risks.
Buying a gaming account is not a criminal offence. It is not illegal under German law or the laws of most countries. No one has been prosecuted for purchasing a gaming account. The actual question is whether it violates a platform’s terms of service — which is a completely separate matter from legality.
The distinction everyone confuses
Legal and “against the ToS” are not the same thing. At all.
This is the single most important concept to understand — and almost every forum thread on this topic gets it wrong. There are two completely separate frameworks here:
Criminal and civil law — what the state can prosecute you for. Theft, fraud, computer crimes. This is what “legal” and “illegal” actually refers to.
A private contract between you and the platform. Breaking it doesn’t make something illegal — it just means the platform can terminate your access. It’s civil, not criminal.
When someone says “buying accounts is illegal,” they almost always mean “it’s against the ToS.” Those are completely different statements. Breaking a platform’s terms of service is not a crime. The consequence is that the platform can suspend your account — not that police show up or you face fines.
German legal experts and court decisions confirm this clearly. The sale of gaming accounts is not a criminal offence in Germany. Legal professionals responding to questions about account trading consistently state the same thing: this is a civil matter between you and the platform, governed by their terms, not by criminal law.
What the Terms of Service actually say
Most platforms prohibit account trading in their ToS. Here’s what that means in practice.
Platforms like Ubisoft, Steam, and Epic Games include clauses in their terms of service that prohibit the transfer or sale of accounts. Ubisoft’s terms (updated January 2026) specifically mention account transfers and note that smurfing — using alternative accounts to play against less experienced players — is prohibited behaviour.
What these clauses mean in practice:
You agree not to transfer your account when you accept the terms. If the platform discovers a transfer has happened, they have the right — within their own rules — to suspend or ban the account. That’s their remedy: access termination. Not legal prosecution, not fines, not criminal charges.
These clauses are civil in nature. The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH, I ZR 178/08) has confirmed that platforms can legitimately include account transfer prohibitions in their terms. But a violation of those terms is a civil matter — a breach of contract between you and the platform — not a crime.
Platforms do not actively scan for accounts that have changed hands. They have no reliable way to detect it. The risk of account suspension exists in theory — but in practice, millions of accounts are traded every year without any action from platforms.
The actual risks — honestly assessed
Not legal risks. Platform risks. Here’s what can actually happen.
The main theoretical risk. If a platform detects unusual activity — login from different regions, sudden credential changes — they may investigate. In practice this rarely results in action on accounts purchased from reputable sellers. The risk increases significantly with bot-leveled accounts or accounts with suspicious activity history.
Not a platform risk — a purchase risk. If you buy an account without full email access (NFA), whoever has the email can reset the password and lock you out at any time. This is the most common way people “lose” a gaming account they purchased. Always buy Full Access. See our NFA vs Full Access guide for the full explanation.
The highest real-world risk. Unverified sellers on random Discord servers or unregulated marketplaces may deliver accounts with prior bans, bot-leveling history, or simply disappear after payment. This is where most bad experiences come from — not from platforms taking action, but from scam sellers.
How to buy safely
The legal question is settled. The practical one — how to not get burned — has a clear answer.
Only buy Full Access accounts. You need the email included so you can change credentials and fully secure the account immediately. NFA accounts carry the specific risk of being locked out by whoever holds the email — not by the platform, but by the seller.
Buy from registered sellers. A seller registered as a business — ideally in an EU country with consumer protection law — has significantly more accountability than an anonymous Discord account. Alviran is registered as a Einzelunternehmen (sole proprietorship) in Germany under §19 UStG, which means there’s a real legal entity behind every transaction.
Change credentials immediately. The moment you receive a Full Access account, change the email and password before doing anything else. This severs the seller’s access completely.
Enable two-factor authentication. Adds another layer of protection that makes it significantly harder for anyone to access the account even if they have the password.
Buying a gaming account from a reputable seller, with Full Access, changing credentials immediately — the practical risk is minimal. The legal risk is zero. The main dangers are NFA accounts and unverified sellers, both of which are avoidable with basic due diligence.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The sale and purchase of gaming accounts is not a criminal offence under German law. Legal experts consistently confirm this: account trading is a civil matter governed by the platform’s terms of service, not criminal law. No one has been prosecuted for buying a gaming account. The worst outcome from the platform’s side is account suspension — not legal action.
Completely different things. “Illegal” means violating the law — criminal or civil law enforced by courts and the state. “Against the ToS” means violating a private contract between you and the platform. Breaking ToS does not make something illegal. The platform’s only remedy for a ToS violation is terminating your access to their service. They cannot fine you, press charges, or pursue legal action simply for trading an account.
Ubisoft does not actively scan for account transfers. Their systems flag suspicious behaviour — cheating, automation, toxic conduct — not account ownership changes. An account purchased from a reputable seller, hand-leveled without bots, carries minimal suspension risk. The accounts at risk are those with bot-leveling history or prior violations, which is why buying from a verified seller with clean accounts matters.
No — if the account is legitimately sold. A stolen account would be one taken from someone without their consent — that’s a different situation entirely. An account that a player created, owns, and voluntarily sells or transfers is not stolen property. The only scenario where this becomes problematic is if the account was obtained through fraud or theft in the first place — which is why buying from verified sellers with clean account histories matters.
Bottom Line
Buying a gaming account is not illegal. It has never been prosecuted as a crime. The relevant risk is platform-side — a ToS violation can result in account suspension — but this risk is minimal when buying a hand-leveled, clean Full Access account from a registered seller.
The question most people should be asking isn’t “is it legal?” — it’s “how do I buy safely?” Full Access, verified seller, change credentials immediately. That’s the whole checklist.
Also worth reading: NFA vs Full Access explained, How to spot a legit gaming account seller, and Is it safe to buy gaming accounts?
Verified. Registered in Germany. Full Access.
Every Alviran account is Full Access, hand-leveled, and backed by Pullback Protection — so you know exactly what you’re getting.