German authorities target Cashpoint sponsorship

An interesting development in the German sports market has seen the Berlin State Criminal Office reportedly initiate a lawsuit targeted at Bundesliga second division football club Hertha BSC in respect of its sponsorship agreement with Gauselmann Group’s online betting subsidiary Cashpoint.

Authorities say Hertha BSC has violated Germany’s State Treaty on Gaming by illegally promoting the Austrian sports betting company.

Cashpoint chief executive officer Michael Wondra told the German news source automatenmarkt.de that the charges “were a return to the Middle Ages”.

“We are a sports betting provider that is licensed not only in many European countries, but with Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. Our sports betting is legal! Obviously political games are played on the back of the club and its many thousands of fans. Hertha doesn’t deserve this. We opted for Hertha and will do so again in the future with full confidence. In our view this is unjustified and we will stand fully behind our partner as Cashpoint Hertha BSC”.

Considering the current state of flux regarding online gambling in Germany, the timing and the lawsuit itself seem questionable.