SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
GVC Holdings has this morning confirmed that it has been approved four separate sports betting licences for Germany, adhering to market conditions set by the Länder approved ‘transitional framework’.
Updating investors, the FTSE100 betting group confirmed that transitional licences have been authorised for its SportingBet, Ladbrokes, bwin and Gamebookers brands.
Announced at the start of October, Germany’s 16 federal Länder (states) agreed to launch a ‘tolerance period’ allowing approved operators to pilot their igaming services under a ‘transitional framework’ matching the laws established by Germany’s New Federal Interstate Treaty on Online Gambling.
The decision was employed in order to ensure that Länder councils would be able to pre-adopt player protections and consumer safeguards ahead of Germany deploying its new federal online gambling regime from 1 July 2021.
Upon its announcement, GVC immediately backed the Lander’s ‘transitional framework’, stating that it would deliver further clarity and certainty to operators wanting to join Germany’s new marketplace in 2021.
Germany’s ‘transitional framework’ will be officially launched on Thursday 15 October with all approved operators adhering to strict terms on player deposit limits, casino table game restrictions, slot requirements and safer gambling standards.
In its statement, GVC confirmed that its licences had been granted with immediate effect. However, the operator is yet to secure defined terms for its individual brands to operate within Germany – “GVC is working with the regulator on an implementation plan with terms expected to be in place in the early part of 2021,” it said.
Signing off GVC’s statement, Group CEO Shay Segev underlined maintaining GVC’s top position within Germany as a critical strategic priority as the FTSE firm targets becoming the lead igaming and sports betting operator across all regulated markets.
“The award of these licences is great news for GVC, bringing the clarity and certainty that we have long sought for sports-betting in Germany,” Segev stated.
“Combined with the recent Tolerance Policy we can now look confidently to the future, building on our position as a market leader by delivering an unparalleled, innovative experience for our German customers. The much-anticipated regulation of online gaming in Germany re-enforces GVC’s position as the most globally regulated and responsible operator in our industry.”
