In preparation for the impending legal changes in the online gambling market in Germany, Playtech has entered into a joint venture agreement with Merkur Interactive, a subsidiary of the Gauselmann Group.

The agreement is to found a new company based on a mutual joint venture for online solutions in the German-speaking regions. It has been set up as a 50-50 partnership and will enable the company to prepare itself for the possible certification procedure for online gambling offers in Germany. The planned company activities encompass the marketing and sales of online sports betting, online poker and further online gambling products.

"The internet bears great possibilities as a sales channel - that also includes the field of gambling for money or just for fun. In Germany it has not been possible to date to legally offer such games on the internet due to the legal set-up. Should these conditions change on the basis of new legal parameters to enable economically viable operations, as for example appears to be the case in Schleswig-Holstein after the new gambling law there, then we will become active," commented Dr Dirk Quermann, managing director of Merkur Interactive.