German state Schleswig-Holstein has awarded three new sports betting licences despite the growing specter of a new Federal State Treaty. Victor Chandler International, bet90 and Interwetten are the three new entrants and they bring the total up to 15 licensees in a state that is continuing to rail against the rest of the country. Schleswig-Holstein did, of course, change government back in the summer and at that stage the new regime expressed its desire to invalidate the previous treaty. In the meantime the state has continued to issue licences as if they’re going out of fashion. The firms with licences have threatened to make compensation claims should they be revoked and it means this could end up getting quite ugly.
As for the state’s own government, they expressed their dismay that two of the applicants were licensed in jurisdictions outside of the country – namely Gibraltar and Malta. One part of the coalition is the SPD party and their chairman commented: “We regret that again, licenses are granted to betting operators in Malta and Gibraltar. This is because of the poor gaming legislation pushed through by the previous coalition, which will soon be repealed.”
German online betting company Cashpoint has signed a deal to sponsor Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg for the next two and a half years. The agreement sees Cashpoint become a second-tier partner of the recent champions and it will cost them around €2million per season up until the conclusion of the 2014/15 campaign. Michael Wondra, chief executive of Cashpoint, added: “As part of the re-regulation of the German sports betting market, cooperation with VfL Wolfsburg gives us timely positioning in the most popular league in Germany.”
Betradar has released its latest product with Soccer Roulette aiming to fill the void between sportsbook and casino. The new live betting product is based on incidents that take place during a game and is described by the company as an “innovative and playful way” for customers to interact. The main aim of the new product is to help drive new customers to their licensees that includes a number of the largest sports betting firms such as bwin, bet365, William Hill, 188BET and Betfair.
