Three more operators licensed in Schleswig Holstein

The Schleswig Holstein Ministry of the Interior has awarded online sports betting licences to Primebet International, Sportingbet and JAXX, bringing the number of licensed operators in the north German Land to 18.

Sportingbet’s licence has been awarded to the operator’s regional subsidiary Spread Your Wings Germany Ltd, while the JAXX brand to be approved is the lottery arm of the company now known as myBet, which was sold to a group of unnamed private investors in May 2012. The JAXX domains, brand names and naming rights were included in the deal, allowing the division’s new owners to continue operating under the brand. Primebet International, meanwhile, is a Malta-based sports betting operator, which was awarded an operating licence by the country’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority in 2001.

While Schleswig Holstein is on course to join the controversial Interstate Gambling Treaty, signed by Germany’s other 15 states, the Land has pressed ahead with the licensing process for online gambling. Minister of the Interior Andreas Breitner has explained that while the newly-elected coalition government does ultimately intend to join the treaty, it is duty-bound to complete the work of the previous Christian Democratic Union government, which passed gambling legislation into law in 2011.