Betfair has called time on its betting exchange in Germany with new tax laws and penalties reportedly making the product unviable. It’s a reaction to the new sports betting law brought in during the summer that relies on a 5 percent tax on turnover. A statement from Betfair confirming the decision went as follows: “The company is disappointed that to date the tax authorities have not been able to agree to an interpretation of the law that would allow Betfair to continue to offer the exchange product.”
The firm is now holding talks with the German authorities to discuss any potential tax liabilities from bets placed on the exchange since the law came into play. Jeffrey Harwood, analyst at Oriel Securities, thinks the figure could reach £20million and he continues to “adopt a cautious view” when it comes to the firm’s shares. To further compound this, Harwood is of the belief that the UK’s gross profit tax in 2014 is a far “more significant issue” for the firm.
German gambling firm Tipp24 reported a slight rise in consolidated revenue for the opening nine months of the year with a rise of 1.7 percent to €105.1million. It meant that consolidated net profit for the same period grew by 37.7 percent to €36.62m as the firm also confirmed that they will be focusing their future on international business. Third quarter results were also released showed revenue up from €34.5m last year to €36,896 this year with net profit more than doubling to €6.59m.
Mobile betting technology provider Mfuse has confirmed the appointment of Paul Galbraith to their senior management team. The appointment, confirmed yesterday, sees Galbraith join up as the new Business Development Director that makes him responsible for sales, market and business development. He has also been given the task of bringing in new mobile betting and gaming clients. Galbraith’s has a strong gambling industry background having worked for the likes of Cantor Index, Rank interactive and Sportradar during his six years in the industry.
