Schleswig-Holstein Passes Internet Gambling Law

The German State of Schleswig-Holstein was in two minds to pass internet gambling. Once its internet gambling draft received the thumbs up from the European Commission (EC) last month, a Schleswig-Holstein official said he hopes that the other German states would amalgamate to form a unified internet gambling treaty. Operators just caught wind that the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein narrowly passed its internet gambling legislation.

Internet gambling verticals that would operate under this legislation are sports books, poker and all internet casino games excluding roulette, blackjack and baccarat. The 1^st of January, 2012 this new law will take effect and from the 1^st of March, 2012 the new licenses would be handed out. There is no limit on the number of licenses that can be issued. On all products the state will receive a 20% gross profits tax.

An internet casino that has invested heavily in the German internet gambling market is Betfair. For quite a while now it has been a staunch supporter of a regulated market in this country. The Schleswig-Holstein legislation has been welcomed by Betfair and said it would apply for a license soon. A representative of Betfair recently told Cassaon-casino it hopes that the other 15 German states will follow suit. Betfair’s representative had the following to say, “Betfair is committed to participating in the internet gambling market in Germany, it’s eager to pay taxes there and offer German players competitive, innovative and safe products.”

Bwin.party, another internet casino said that it would apply for a license the moment the necessary regulations are in operation. When Schleswig-Holstein’s passing the internet gambling bill Bwin.party’s share price increased by 14%. The stockbrokers Numis Securities said now is the time to purchase Bwin.party shares, explaining that the legalization of internet gambling in Schleswig-Holstein will significantly lessen the risk to the internet casino in relation to its largest market.

Another company that’s interested in applying for licenses in the German state is the Kiel based Jaxx, whose MyBet brand was granted a license in Belgium recently. Jaxx said it will apply for the following licenses such as sports betting, poker and internet casino games under the new law the moment the necessary parameters are in place. Mathias Dahms a representative of Jaxx said, “The other 15 federal states would be well advised to copy the Schleswig-Holstein model. The new law provides legal certainty and strikes a fair balance between players, and entrepreneurial liberty.”

Most experts believe that the other German states would be obliged to legalize their internet gambling markets by imposing more favourable terms than the ones currently proposed by them. It’s still a conundrum to us why certain table games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette are excluded. Hopefully we’ll now the reason for this soon.