Following last week’s Hesse Ministry of the Interior & Sports (HMDIS) awarding of the first set of federal German online sports betting licenses, German business news sources report that telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom are currently exploring entering the German sports betting market.
With the German online sports betting framework still in its infancy, German newspapers report that Deutsche Telekom believe they can secure a substantial share of the German gambling market if they act rapidly and move on the market.
German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the telecoms company plans to offer sports betting services through a brand called Deutsche SportWetten (DSW), which the newspaper claims has applied for a Hesse sports betting licence.
It remains unclear how Deutsche Telekom would manage its sports betting operations. German news report do not indicate whether Deutsche Telekom would look to partner with an established European igaming operator, or whether they would look to bring sports betting operations in house.
In 2013 reports emerged that Deutsche Telekom had been studying the German igaming market. 2013 reports indicated that Deutsche Telekom would look to enter the sports betting and igaming market once Legislation had been formalised. Reports further claimed that Deutsche Telekom would look to acquire a German focused betting operator, to ease market entry.