Betfair Signs Lucrative German Sailing Sponsorship - 12-29-11

December 29 - Betfair, the giant UK online gambling operator, has moved one step further into the German market by announcing the sponsorship of a world famous sailing event from next year.

Betfair gambling group will sponsor the Multi One Design (MOD) 70 Sailing Cup event, to take place in Schleswig-Holstein in September 2012.  In addition, it will also act as a partner in the June Kieler Woche sailing event.

Schleswig-Holstein is the only German state which is moving towards a regulated online gambling industry, after passing legislation in September.

The new laws will enable Schleswig-Holstein to license online gambling groups to operate sports betting sites and certain casino games, not including roulette, blackjack and baccarat.

The Managing Director for Betfair Germany, Peter Reinhardt said about Betfair signing the German sailing sponsorship: "Betfair has a strong track record of sustainable and significant investment in the regions in which it operates."

"Be it through sponsorship or corporate social responsibility initiatives, it is our aim to help support and bring benefit to local communities and sport, which is why we're so pleased with the signing of this deal," he said.

"We're delighted that Betfair has chosen to invest in the city of Kiel and, in particular, the MOD 70 Sailing Event," noted a spokesperson for the city, Tom Holborn. "The deal will provide much needed funding and investment to what is a growing sport in the region and having a global, reputable business like Betfair on board is a real coup."

German Online Gambling Licenses from March 2012

If everything goes according to plan for the state of Schleswig-Holstein, online gambling operators will be able to start obtaining licenses from March 2012 already.

There will be no limit to the number of online gambling operators who could be awarded licenses by Schleswig-Holstein, and under the new laws, operators will have to pay a 20% gross profits tax.

The state's decision to implement these changes is in strong contrast to the policy followed by Germany's fifteen other states, which are in favor amending the State Lottery Treaty, despite being unsanctioned by the European Union.

When Schleswig-Holstein submitted its own drafts to the EU, these were found to be compliant with European policy on online gambling.

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