Betfair pulls out of Germany

[The Buzz]

Betfair says it is too expensive to operate in Germany with a 5% tax on turnover for sports betting.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8M730B20121107

[Nick.RevenueJet]

I wouldn't say it's a huge loss to the German economy, you have to keep things in perspective.
I believe the purpose of the move is to try get some other operators to join in, applying further pressure on the government. Whether it would work or not, only time will tell.
Anyway it's nice to see a company seeing its profit margins cut and instead of trying to work out temporary solutions, just gracefully stepping out of the market.

[gavind]

All I can say here. Is that really, they are missing out on a lot of money here. Serious players come from Germany. I hope they would reconsider this soon.

[UKCasinoOnline]

This comes as a big surprise, given how big a market Germany reportedly is, I hope Betfair aren't making a hasty decision here, or getting a bit too complacent. I guess we'll never really know either way though to be honest!

[F4Tay]

Exchange betting companies run at such small margins, basically any country which is taxed on turnover at a percentage over 2 or 3 percent pretty much kills the model. The only way they can combat the tax is to raise its commission on markets which takes away its competitive edge. Think we will see a major shift in betfair in the next few years to incorporate a more of a traditional sportsbook model. I see already they have pulled out of the planned venture into California.

[Roulette Zeitung]

Hello,

it's the result of the 16 gouverneurs from the German states. The German Interstate Gambling Treaty was born only to eleminate the online competition and to make the cash tills ring.

Some politicians here in Germany want an internet censorship (forced proxy), but it's very difficult to enforce it.

Unlike other countries no gambling companie owner must have fear of being arrested or imprisoned. In this matter Germany is a toothless tiger.

Leopold

[medlington]

Could I get blocked from my own betfair account because of this though?

I reported some strange activity to them as my account was showing that it had been accessed from Germany several times yet I hadnt been there and it turned out that I was using free wifi in a few pubs and the servers for the free wifi were in Germany.

Will they continue to let me bet if I connect from a German based server as my account was created as an English account and has English bank details etc?

How will they go about identifying which Germans are in the 16 states and which are in the one that allows it or have they completely pulled out of Germany not just the 16?

Im sure they've got this sorted but could cause lots of issues if people get blocked from their own account while trying to bet from pubs etc