A German state has finally approved competition-friendly online gambling regulation and the country's first i-gaming legislation, causing a rush of interest from operators.
With a vote of 46 to 45, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein passed a new treaty for online gambling, which will allow an unlimited number of companies to apply for a gambling licence to operate exchanges, sportbooks, poker and most casino games at a competitive 20 per cent tax of gross profits.
At the moment, the German online market is unregulated so companies can run their international websites and aren’t required to pay any tax in Germany. But the rest of the country has proposed new online gambling regulations and, although the Schleswig-Holstein regulations have been widely welcomed by the online gaming sector, the remaining 15 German states have proposed a very onerous tax regime, which is currently the subject of a European Commission consultation after several complaints.
Shares in bwin.party digital entertainment rose more than 12 per cent yesterday after it was announced that the state had approved competition-friendly online gambling regulation.
