The sports betting industry in Germany, hard-hit by closures of betting shops and canceled sports due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is reach out to the government for help.
Sports betting revenues dropped by 20 percent last year, and the German Sports Betting Association (DSWW) has pointed to the pandemic as the reason. Speaking to the G3 Newswire, Mathias Dahms sought to quash the notion that sports betting online profited from the pandemic.
“The exact opposite is true,” he said. “During the first lockdown in spring 2020, when all European leagues had ceased their gaming operations, the German sports betting market collapsed completely: in April by 90 percent compared to the previous year, in May by 75 percent. Without sport there can be no sports bet, of course.
“During the current lockdown, all 5,000 to 6,000 betting offices nationwide are closed or have been thrown back to the reduced acceptance point operations. The approximately 25,000 employees are mostly on short-time work and fear for their jobs, the operators for their entrepreneurial existence.
“Many do not hold out much longer, also because the federal government denies betting offices the promised Corona November and December aid. We therefore need a planning perspective from politicians as soon as possible, as to how safe business operations under hygiene requirements will be possible again in the coming months.”
