Entain expands in Germany, gets first online poker license

U.K.-listed said it has further expanded in Germany with five new licenses to offer gaming and poker services throughout the country. 

The company said it had been awarded the licenses by the State Administrative Office of Saxony-Anhalt. It will offer gaming under its bwin, Ladbrokes and SportingBet brands. Poker will be under Ladbrokes and bwin. 

Each licence is granted for a term of five years.  Entain is the first operator to be licenced to offer online poker.

The new awards are in addition to Entain’s existing licences to offer online sports betting under each brand and will enable the group to enhance and develop its position as a market leader in sports betting and gaming in Germany.

 “We’re delighted to now have our licences for gaming and poker services in the regulated German market, enabling us to offer and market them to our customers,” Entain Chief Governance Officer Robert Hoskin said. “It is an important and welcome step towards achieving the goal of a fully regulated online betting and gaming market in Germany. Only through such regulation and its enforcement will we avoid the reality of customers going to the black market where there are none of the safeguards that reputable operators such as Entain guarantee.”