Bwin Boost As German State OKs Online Betting

Austrian gambling giant Bwin was given a big boost Thursday, as the German state of Schleswig-Holstein split from the rest of the country and assed a law that will open the way to liberalization of the region's online gaming market.

A majority of legislators from the centre-right Christian Democrats and Free Democrats voted in the state assembly of Kiel to pass a law permitting any commercial operator to apply for online betting licenses from March 2012.

The move means Germany's northernmost state has split from the country's 15 other regions, which had made a consensus agreement to loosed a ban but not fully liberalize. Those regions wants to set a limit for seven online sports betting licenses over a five-year period beginning in January.

Germany's states, who have power over lotteries, casinos and sports betting, were told to act last year by the European Court of Justice, which said their traditional monopoly contravened European Union laws.

bwin and Betfair were among the internet gambling operators to welcome the move, with Betfair's head of German operations Peter Reinhardt calling it a decision that would "not only benefit consumers" but also boost the coffers of the state government and of local sporting clubs.

More than 20 percent of bwin.party Digital Entertainment's revenues come from Germany, so the company has been in worrying times since new strict gambling regulations were proposed in April. The company's shares soared in London on the news from Germany.