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A triumph for Tipico: Limiting of sports betting licenses violates EU law

gambling industry gaming industry tipico

2016-04-25 12:00:24

Last week, the courts in Wiesbaden ruled that it was unlawful to limit sports betting licenses to twenty licenses. Based on EU law, all providers of sports betting should be given an equal chance to obtain a license from the body responsible for regulating gambling in Germany.

Sports betting company Tipico filed a lawsuit with the courts in Wiesbaden, Hesse in Germany. Tipico argued that the federal state law of Hesse, which limits licenses for sportsbooks to 20 providers violates EU law.

The federal state of Hesse is responsible for issuing licenses to German providers of sports betting and decided, following a selection process which took two years, on twenty providers who can provide sports betting. Among these providers are Oddsett, the state-run Sportwetten GmbH and Cashpoint.

Following this decision, the federal court in Wiesbaden received several complaints from providers, whose applications were denied. This week, the courts ruled in favour of Tipico and the lawsuit is expected to act as an example for those by other providers that are expected to follow suit.