BetFair Cries Foul Over German Laws

Germany has long had more restrictive online gambling laws than many of its neighbors. Now, Betfair is hoping that the European Union will agree that changes need to be in order to bring Germany in line with EU rules.

Betfair, which first complained about their inability to enter the German market this summer, has stated that new German laws would still not allow the British firm to compete on equal footing in Germany. At the moment, German law would allow sports betting inside the country to continue being controlled by the 16 German states.

"Under these current proposals Germany's new state treaty will be out of line and out of touch with fundamental EU law," said Betfair's chief legal and regulatory affairs officer Martin Cruddace.

Betfair is not the first gambling company that has complained about German laws regarding sports betting. Many see the laws as being designed to essentially protect a government monopoly in the country. To other European firms, this is a huge problem, as the German market is very lucrative; according to most estimates, the German sports betting market alone is worth about €5 billion a year.

In a larger sense, this is just a part of a larger battle in the EU over how online gambling legislation can be structured. Many have argued that nations must allow firms from other EU countries to complete for licenses in order to comply with EU law. In nations like France and Italy, both foreign and domestic groups have been allowed to operate sites specifically targeted to only those markets – a compromise measure that seems to be permissible under EU law.