Tipp24 intends to spin off its German lottery brokerage business and transfer it to a public limited company to be listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The lottery brokerage business was launched in February under the Lotto24 brand from the Tipp24 Group and currently only targets customers in Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt. In Schleswig-Holstein, new gaming legislation was passed in 2011, which now permits the online brokerage of state lotteries. In Saxony-Anhalt, Tipp24 SE had successfully fought in court for the legal right to broker lotteries online.
After the planned spin-off of its German operations, Tipp24 will focus on the expansion of its foreign business. In particular, it intends to establish a new international business division with internet services for lottery companies.
Lotto24 will focus on brokering state lotteries in Germany.
Tipp24 believes that with the adoption of the revised state treaty on games of chance in July 2012, there will once again be a legal basis for the online brokerage of lotteries throughout Germany.
Lotto24 will have to apply for permits from the various regulatory authorities of the individual states in order to act as a broker in Germany. In this case, a continued legal connection between Lotto24 and Tipp24 or its fully consolidated minority holdings may jeopardise permit application processes.
Dr Hans Cornehl, CEO of Tipp24, said: "Tipp24 has been involved in legal disputes about the resumption of its online lottery brokerage business in Germany for four years now. Although we have achieved some clear victories, we believe that a complete legal separation is the best option to provide Lotto24 with a starting position in the German market which is not burdened by legal disputes."
