Germany extends sports betting deadline
German Land Hesse to now accept applications until 7 January 2013, following initial 20 December deadline.
The German Land of Hesse has extended the deadline for operators to apply for one of 20 sports betting licences from 20 December to 7 January 2013.
Phase one of the application process was for registering initial interest for the licence under the revised “E15″ treaty and ended on 12 September. The second phase, also overseen by the Hessen Ministry of Interior, requires more significant documentation, including security and business details, as well as financial data.
Due to the extensive nature of the requirements, the phase two deadline has been extended to give operators more time to complete the necessary paperwork.
The phase one deadline was also postponed for similar reasons, from 4 to 12 September.
To date, only mybet (formerly JAXX) and bwin.party have officially said they will apply for a licence despite also being approved in breakaway state Schleswig Holstein that, unlike the State Treaty, has been formally backed by the European Commission. Schleswig Holstein last issued sports betting licences in August.
bwin.party co-CEO Jim Ryan has said it would apply for a German sports betting licence and pay the resulting 5% turnover tax despite continuing to believe that it “fails to meet the requirements of EU law”.
Earlier this month, Betfair announced that it would withdraw its exchange product from Germany with immediate effect after claiming the country’s 5% tax on sports betting stakes “unviable”.