All but one of Germany’s lander has voted on proposals to implement a highly unfavorable new gambling plan. Under the proposal, 20 sports betting licenses will be issued and a 5% turnover tax applied, according to Die Zeit. Monthly betting will be capped at €1,000 and in-play betting faces further scrutiny before German’s can take part. There are still no casino games or poker allowed under the bill and it’s unlikely that the EU will approve the plan backed by 15 of the 16 states.
The new law is at odds with the plan in Schleswig-Holstein that works on a 20% tax on gross profits. We announced that license fees are set at €15,000 with annual fees ranging from €15,000 to €150,000. It’s very unlikely that anyone will be able to stop companies licensed in Schleswig-Holstein taking bets from customers across the country.
Stinging criticism for the German federal plan has already started with the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) more than happy to stick in their two deutschmarks worth. Chief Executive Clive Hawkswood, very perturbed at the latest German attempts, said: “The European Commission has repeatedly stated that the draft State Treaty falls foul of EU law and the latest version appears to make little headway in meeting the Commission’s concerns. In fact, such an approach simply makes the Schleswig-Holstein proposal more attractive and creates a fragmented, confusing and undesirable situation for German consumers.”
Predictably, the stock market reacted with trademark volatility towards bwin.party (Pwin). The firm’s price was down by almost 4% to 109.50 steering ever closer to the 52-week low of 100.60p. It’s a long way from those heady days of 262.70p and just goes to show the risks public companies face in the gaming industry. We’ll know more in January when Schleswig-Holstein starts to dish out licenses. If nothing else, it will tell us what the market thinks of Pwin’s chances. Will the market they place some much reliance on a) let them in and b) work on a nationwide basis?
