BWIN eyeing damages lawsuits against German states, sees 15 pct tax as fair

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VIENNA (Thomson Financial) - BWIN Interactive Entertainment AG is considering seeking hundreds of millions of euros in compensation from several German federal states, claiming that their measures blocking BWIN's online gaming offering and marketing activities severely damaged the company's business and reputation.

BWIN co-chief executive Norbert Teufelberger told Germany's Stuttgarter Zeitung that he is confident that the states' efforts to protect their monopoly over games of chance would be ruled illegal by the European Court of Justice and Germany's Federal Constitution Court.

Teufelberger told the newspaper that BWIN supports a political solution that would see states maintaining a full monopoly in the lottery sector while regulated online gaming providers are given the right to offer sports betting, casino games and poker in exchange for a 15 pct tax on gross winnings.