German poker and casino offering "legitimate", argues Teufelberger
bwin.party co-CEO claims company has "legal right" to continue to offer poker and casino in Germany despite authorities today stating that any successful sports betting State Treaty licensee would have to immediately shutdown both verticals.
bwin.party will continue to offer casino and poker in Germany despite the country’s authorities today outlining that any of its successful 20 State Treaty sports betting licensees will be forced to shut down both product verticals.
During an analyst call following its third quarter results this morning co-CEO Norbert Teufelberger (pictured) said the company has a “clear view” that its poker and casino offering in the German market is “legitimate”.
“We anticipate we will continue to operate casino and poker as we believe we have a legal right to do so,” he said.
German federal authorities today insisted that any operators that successfully gain one of its limited 20 sports betting licences would immediately have to cease offering casino and poker, both of which are off limits under current legislation.
Teufelberger, however this morning questioned the decision to close down both verticals suggesting that further clarification over, for example, what is deemed to be an “illegal product” and who exactly would determine various products to be illegal, will need to be answered before any further steps are taken by operators.
bwin.party generates approximately 25% of its revenues from Germany, the biggest share of any private gaming operator and warned three months ago during its first half results that its H2 numbers would be impacted by regulatory developments there. Teufelberger however was in typically bullish mood adding that the German authorities “will do a lot to have us in the regime or want us to be a partner in the country because we are the biggest player there”.
Bwin.party today blamed poor poker revenues and a 5% turnover tax on sports betting in Germany for a 5% year-on-year decline in third-quarter pro forma revenues.
In its interim management statement for the three months ended 30 September, it explained that the 20 July decision to remove short-odds single bets in Germany was in part responsible for sports betting revenues falling by 2% year-on-year and amounts wagered falling by 8% compared to the corresponding period in 2011.
Short-odds bets [with odds of less than 1.1] were deemed by bwin.party to be “No longer viable following the introduction of the new turnover tax.”