Application mistakes
Mistakes in applications

Government Delays Award of New Sports Betting Licenses

Despite the German government inviting online and mobile sports betting companies to apply for 20 new gambling licenses under their new interstate gambling laws, not one of the licenses has been given out. In fact, the government suggested that none of the applicants filled out their applications properly.

So, despite inviting around half of the 41 applicants to formal interviews, any new mobile sportsbooks in Germany will have to wait that little bit longer. Indeed, the government will issue new guidelines to the operators in the New Year, and the companies will then have 3 months to apply.

Despite this, there has been no timetable released for rollout, leading some to speculate that anyone looking to take part in legal iPhone gambling will have to wait until 2015. This has led some to conclude that this was merely a delaying tactic by the German government, and that there are actually no real plans to introduce legal inter-state sports betting.

This is a very different situation to other countries within the EU, especially the UK. There, the sportsbook market is highly saturated, with British sportsbooks amongst the biggest in the world. A massive industry has grown out of their tax-haven bases on the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Alderney, and other locations.