They instead said they would prefer to reintroduce the legislation that saw them licence 23 online casino and 25 sportsbooks in According to my market sources, almost everyone has complied, which means that the vast majority of the German online gambling market is now effectively paying tax on their not entirely legal revenues. Speaking to chief executives of some big operators and software companies who have until now stayed out of Germany, it appears that their patience may finally be cracking.
I am expecting several other big companies to open up Germany as an acceptable market over the next 12 months. What are the consequences of this? Likewise for their media companies, who also seem to be a lot happier about the risks of taking advertising from gambling companies. But what will the politicians and legal authorities make of it?
It feels like the gaming operators are hoping that Germany goes the same way as Sweden where, slowly but surely, a very light grey market becomes taxed and regulated. British time in a weak Austrian market where the ATX index was down 1. In a drawback for bwin, the court also said the license was not valid in the western part of the country -- contradicting other courts in western German states which have deemed the license valid.
In a separate decision, the Saxon court endorsed a ban on bwin. Breakingviews Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day.