Special report: Germany Power 10 (Part 2)

Yesterday eGaming Review began its countdown of the operators best placed to take advantage of Germany’s egaming market. Today we continue by looking at four firms with well-established operations in the country.

7. StarGames

StarGames is an operator that remains under many people’s radar, however several sources including major affiliates suggested it is easily among the leaders in Germany’s online casino market. It boasts more than 12 million players on its global database, with Germany understood to be its largest market.

Launched in 2007 and licensed in Malta, sources put StarGames’ success down to getting the basics, a well-designed and reliable site, right. Also available in the same family of sites is white label skin Skill7.com aimed at a global player base, and Beatya.com which is solely aimed at German speakers in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Operated on the Greentube platform – the firm acquired by Novomatic games online five years ago – StarGames’ primary driver of revenues is its exclusive access to over 100 Novomatic slots titles. Online versions of hugely popular land-based slots such as Book of Ra and Xtra Hot ensure a loyal following, as does a wide array of multiplayer games which are extremely popular in Germany.

StarGames acquires the majority of its players through a large network of affiliates across Europe, opting to steer clear of the fierce PPC and SEO battle. It offers generous terms, including twice-monthly payouts, and also offers partners the ability to embed one its leading games, Book of Ra, onto the affiliate site itself.

6. Amaya

Such is PokerStars’ dominance of the poker vertical its place in most country’s top 10 lists is almost guaranteed. Germany-based sources suggest the operator holds between 70-80% of market share, no doubt boosted by the fading power of partypoker and the near-absence of other serious competition such as 888poker.

The flurry of PokerStars marketing activity at the turn of the decade – in late 2011 it acquired the naming rights for Stadion an der Lohmühle in Schleswig-Holstein and appointed former tennis champion Boris Becker as its figurehead for the German market – has died down. But its leading position despite a lack of high profile sponsorships shows just how dominant PokerStars is in terms of brand and product loyalty.

Parent company Amaya’s move to add casino and sportsbook has so far not made it as far as Germany, a not unsurprising move given the state of play concerning licensing. However if the outcome of the longrunning regulation saga is a favourable one for multi-vertical operators, Amaya would hope it is in a strong position to convert poker players from both Full Tilt and PokerStars into casino and sportsbook.

5. Interwetten

Founded in Vienna in 1990 but now headquartered in Malta, Interwetten’s core business remains in German-speaking countries despite a push into southern Europe. The firm began life as a telephone betting operator, and first launched its website in 1997 – a year before Google, as the company likes to point out.

But Interwetten has failed to convert its head-start online into a dominant market position, even though it continues to report consistent growth, hitting revenues of €25.7m (£18.4m) in H1 2015. The operator spent heavily on marketing in Germany in the run-up to last summer’s World Cup, but more recently looks to have switched attention back to its core Austrian market, where it recently announced a link-up with football team SV Grödig.

There are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic when it comes to its German business, and it remains ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile, reporting around half of all turnover through the channel.

But there is a sense that the firm may be hesitant to commit to Germany as long as regulation remains uncertain. During the H1 report, it stressed a marketing spend which was “below industry benchmarks”, and it also appears to be keen to expand into other markets, recently obtaining a slots licence in Spain. Interwetten will remain a major player in Germany, but it may take a more focused approach to the country before we see it move higher up the rankings.

4. bet-at-home

Germany is by far bet-at-home’s biggest market in Western Europe and is understood to contribute around a quarter of group GGR. The Frankfurt-listed firm has held a casino and sports betting licence awarded by the Ministry of the Interior for Schleswig Holstein since 2012 and has capitalised on the vast array of marketing opportunities the market presents.

Bet-at-home splashed the cash straight away and sponsored high profile Bundesliga sides Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC St Pauli between 2011 and 2013 and has since been sponsor of FC Schalke 04. This season the firm will also partner with Hertha Berlin which becomes the first and only club with a betting partner on their shirts. Other, non-football deals have built a brand that resonates with sports fans, including the bet-at-home Open tennis tournament in Hamburg and sponsorships of leading ice hockey and handball teams.

The firm is also one of the few German-focused operators to get mobile right and the channel is now driving growth thanks to a relaunch of its entire mobile product range last year. The addition of a broad live betting product will have played a large part in that success. Comfortably in the top five.

You can read the first part of our countdown of Germany’s most important operators here, with the final part to be published tomorrow, Wednesday 16 September.