Ivaylo - Germany - Liberalisation11 Mar 2011 09:57
I shall translate, I hope this is English :)
The ices seems to be broken. Mr. Kurt Beck, MP of Rheinland Pfalz and his colleague Wolfgang Boemer, MP from Sachsen-Anhalt, said that the minister presidents [MPs] of the Laender [the different states] have taken position for the opening of the sports betting market in a controlled manner. On April 6, 2011, the MPs want to deliberate on the final draft of the alterations in the Glückspielstaatsvertrag [you can translate it with gambling treaty - a treaty among the GER states - if I am correctly informed] as this matter is with the Laender).
"We basically agree on the procedure, we only have details to solve in context with sports betting. The question is the manner of the liberalisation. It could be the case that licences for private gambling companies could be given regionally [Laender] or nationally (Bund). In addition, we need to agree on how to structure safety mechanism like prevention measures.
Currently, the Glückspielstaatsvertrag guarantees the governmental monopoly. It shall stay effectively for the lottery business. After the decision of the European Court of Justice, on Sept. 8, 2010, private gambling companies see their opinion confirmed that the limitations of the German gambling market are not anymore covered by the prevailing legal situation and that the monopoly of the state(s) is outdated.
According to Mr. Beck (MP of Rheinland Pfalz), 90% of all sport betting is done illegally according to prevailing legislation. Thus, the state does give up on income which the socialist politician estimates to be EUR 5 bn EUR plus .....
[.... the residual text is more or less a collection of opinions of Teufelberger (CEO bwin) and a consultant ... till the last paragraph that is ..]
Volker Bouffier, MP of Hessen, has recently raised hope for an opening of the market. We do not want to have uncontrolled growth. If people want to gamble, then [we should do it] in a controlled manner. This can only be achieved by a controlled opening, the conservative politician said.