Germany to Liberalise Sportsbetting Market

Gaming Intelligence Group
20 April 2007

The budget and financial speakers of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union agreed this week at a meeting in Stuttgart to propose abolishing the state monopoly on sports betting, and to allow the lottery market to continue unchanged under the terms of the 2004 State Treaty.

The terms of a liberalised sports betting market are to be drawn up in a separate State Treaty.

The Union’s fiscal policymakers believe that the liberalisation of sports betting should be accompanied by the levying of a special incentive tax. It is to be ring-fenced on the basis of the player’s place of abode and therefore assure the federal states a source of revenue from sports betting. This will provide continued funding for mass sport, charities, culture and addiction prevention measures.

“We expressly welcome the Union’s decision,” declared Rainer Jacken, Director of Fluxx AG. “It shows that common sense and economic realism are increasingly gaining ground in connection with the planned State Treaty on gaming. We believe court rulings and political opinions are coming to acknowledge the grave concerns already voiced by the EU Commission.”

“Nobody now wants to be made responsible for a sharp but unnecessary slump in revenue and the impending legal chaos in both Germany and Europe. We citizens are called to abide by the law, and quite rightly so. We should therefore be able to expect our politicians to do likewise. This wise resolution by the Union parties’ fiscal policy spokespersons now means that the German gaming market can be reorganised in an intelligent manner.”