GVC refutes Hamburg authority’s claim over online casino offer
FTSE 100 operator one of three firms targeted by Hamburg Interior Agency in new criminal filings
GVC has dismissed claims it is illegally offering online casino products in Germany after the Hamburg Interior Agency filed criminal charges against the company and two other operators.
On Tuesday, German media reports suggested GVC, Tipico and Bet3000 were the subject of a complaint from the agency over claims that the trio are illegally offering online casino gaming to German players.
Officials from the agency filed complaints that GVC’s bwin betting brand is being used to offer online casino gambling in Germany.
Complaints were filed with the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s office, which will now review the case and decide whether a criminal prosecution is necessary.
A spokesperson for GVC said: “This filing has no merit or legal standing, bwin operates legally throughout Germany under EU law.
“We expect the filing to be dismissed after a standard review process,” GVC added.
The London-listed operator questioned whether Hamburg was pursuing a protectionist agenda on behalf of its own state lottery, LOTTO Hamburg.
GVC operates under a Gibraltar gaming licence, while Tipico and Bet3000 operate in Germany under Malta Gaming Authority licences.
Tipico, which sponsors the German Bundesliga, chose not to comment directly on the case but questioned the basis of the charges, which were based on a February Federal Court ruling.
A spokesman for Tipico asserted the firm’s legal operation of online gambling under the supranational EU legislation.
The spokesman said: “The Federal Court of Justice heard the case of a gambling hall that was operated without a licence, although a licence could have been applied for.
“In contrast, online casino offerings are not a question of lack of a permit. It is about a national ban that is no longer compatible with European Union law. With their agreement on the 4th State Treaty on Gambling of March 2020, the 16 federal states have already overcome the national ban.
“Tipico’s position remains unchanged: Tipico’s online casino offering is legal. The fact that the existing 3rd State Treaty on Gambling prohibits this does not change anything because the online casino prohibition violates European law,” Tipico added.
At present, online casino is unregulated in 15 of the 16 German states, with only Schleswig-Holstein allowing online casino gambling within state borders under strict marketing restrictions.
The validity of those restrictions was called into question earlier this month when regulators in neighbouring Saarland issued banning orders against two “market-strong” online casino providers, not believed to include GVC’s bwin, that it claimed were licensed by Schleswig-Holstein.
A new Germany-wide Interstate Treaty on Gambling is expected to come into force in July 2021, at which time online casino gaming will become regulated across Germany for the first time.