As the gun smoke cleared after the World Cup Soccer, new clashes flared between the German private Internet betting companies and the national authorities.
The problem is the GDR licensees that are the five gaming operators of the former East Germany. When the unification of West Germany and East Germany took place in October 1990, Brandenburg, Meclenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt and Thüringen joined the German Federal Republic, but the regulation of those five companies was not properly addressed.
Consequently, Austria-based BetandWin (soon to be renamed "BWin") finds itself in a legal predicament. The company, which years ago bought a former East German sports betting license, recently signed a shirt and board advertising deal with German second league soccer club 1860 München. The free state of Bayern, with its capital in München (Munich), has already declared via a spokesman of the Bavarian Interior Ministry, that it will send a public prosecutor the moment a player of 1860 München puts on a shirt with an advertising imprint of BWin or BetandWin.
The German 2nd Bundes Liga, commences Aug. 13 with an away match for 180 München, and its first home match will be on the 18th.
A backdrop of this potential standoff is a judgment of the national court in Cologne, which forbids Betandwin from offering casino games and betting through its home page, Betandwin.com. The company has appealed the verdict and refers to the Gambelli judgment of the European Court of Justice, which establishes that those who may offer gambling in their country of origin may do so in the entire European Union.
"At this moment I do not know a verdict according to which the advertisement for our partner is not permitted," 1860 Geschäftsführer Stefan Ziffzer told Reuters. "I don't want to annul the sponsor contract."
He has received support from the major league Bundesliga club Werder Bremen, which also has a major deal (including a shirt sponsorship) with BetandWin. The senate in Bremen, incidentally, wants to block the agreement.
Betandwin management, meanwhile, is not panicking. And despite the threats, both teams intend to present their new sponsored uniforms when league play begins.