German government asked to block Deutsche Telekom sportsbook

Germany’s federal government has been asked to block Deutsche Telekom’s plan to launch a sportsbook by an association of German state-owned lottery operators who called the plans “absurd”.

In a statement, Deutsche Lotto and Totoblock (DLTB) managing directors Michael Burkert and Peter Jacoby said the telecommunications giant’s planned move showed a lack of respect for German law accused the company of playing a “trick with Germany’s regulations”.

Former state-owned Deutsche Telekom yesterday announced it had acquired a 64% stake in Austrian operator Deustche Sportwetten (DSW) and planned to launch a Germany-facing brand called tipp3 using the DSW’s Austrian licence as early as next month.

However, Burkett and Jacoby said the Austrian permit was insufficient and the launch of tipp3 should be postponed until Germany’s long-running licensing process had reached its conclusion.

“The argument that an Austrian licence exists and should therefore be offered in Germany is absurd and cannot be accepted,” Burkett and Jacoby said.

“The German legislature has clearly established that only those which have a German licence must offer on the internet and that’s always been the attitude of the federal government and the states.

“We call on the federal government to intervene – especially since the federal government [holds a] 14.3% stake and state development bank KfW a 17.4% stake in the shares of Deutsche Telekom,” they added.

Germany’s lucrative sports betting market remains a source of frustration for operators, 19 of which, including DSW, have been awarded licences but remain on stand-by as several large firms complain over their omission from the process.

Some operators have voiced optimism that the market could still open early next year, however sources familiar with the matter suggest that it will be several months before the courts have even finished compiling evidence.