The German sports betting association (DSVW) has asked that betting operators refrain from offering bets on German amateur football, in a resolution adopted on Thursday 22 January. “With this recommendation, we want to send a signal to sport and initiate dialogue with the regulatory authorities”, said DSVW President, Mathias Dahms, in a 26 January statement. “The background to this is the unexplained legal position regarding the German sports betting market, which makes efficient cooperation between sport, the authorities and betting operators more difficult…for us, the protection of minors and the integrity of sporting competition are a priority. To implement this in the German sports betting market, we need a functioning licensing system and exchanges between sports, government and betting providers.”

In December 2011, Germany’s new Interstate Treaty on Gambling (ITG) proposed that 20 sports betting operators apply for 20 licenses to offer sports betting. After a long process, the licenses were issued in September last year. However, as the ITG retains state gambling monopolies and is subject to a challenge at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) as to whether it complies with EU law, the status of these licenses remains precarious.

The DSVW was founded last year and counts 11 sports betting operators currently offering bets in Germany as its members. Most of its members sponsor professional sport in Germany.