German market expected to grow to 1.5 billion euros by 2015

In 2011 Germans wagered a total of almost 45 billion euros, with gross revenues topping 10 billion euros. Sports betting is estimated to grow to 1.5 billion euros by 2015 as many operators have their sights on the soon-to-be-liberalised sector. The key growth driver will be the retail sports betting segment where around 2,500 new betting shops and countless new shop-in-shops/terminals are expected to open in the next few years.

According to the report, the grey online gambling market is worth approximately 1 billion euro, with online poker the biggest segment, and will grow to 1.7 billion euros by 2015. MECN and industry experts expect that by 2015 the total online gambling market (licensed and unlicensed - betting, poker, casino and lotteries) will grow to 1.7 billion euros, with online lotteries driving this development.

There are many open issues still to be resolved, however, that will ultimately determine whether the liberalisation will be a success. Martin Oelbermann, co-author of the study, commented: "Since the experience with France, liberalisation alone no longer automatically prompts applause. Aside from taxes, operators are also concerned about other regulations, such as advertising restrictions, online identification processes, IT systems, that will be imposed."

A key question is also whether the licence issued by Germany's northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, which has enacted separate, more liberal regulations (also liberalising online poker and casino, lower taxes), will be valid throughout Germany.