Suspension of betting exchange in Germany
We regret to inform you that from Thursday 8 November we will be unable to continue offering a betting exchange in Germany. This is due to current uncertainty as to the application of a Federal law that imposes a 5% tax on stakes which would make it impractical for a betting exchange to operate. The exchange product will therefore be unavailable to customers whose country of residence is Germany but www.betfair.com will remain available for other products. Betfair will continue to engage with the relevant tax authorities to seek clarification on interpretation of the law and its applicability to exchanges.
What does this mean for our German resident customers?
Between 8am and 10am GMT (9am – 11am local German time) on Thursday 8 November customers whose place of residence is in Germany will become unable to place bets (back or lay) via the exchange. This includes bet placement via the mobile platform and third party applications. If you are a German resident and you hold positions on exchange markets then we encourage you to trade out as a matter of urgency. All other products like poker, casino and non exchange fixed odds sports betting will remain available without restrictions.
You will still have unrestricted access to your account and your deposits are safe. Withdrawals and deposits to and from your account can be made as usual.
Already placed long term exchange bets (e.g. German football champions 12/13) will be settled in the normal way once the result is known. All open unmatched bets will be cancelled between 8am and 10am GMT (9am – 11am local German time) Thursday 8 November 2012 and any associated funds will be refunded to your wallets.
To gain access to the fixed odds markets, please ensure that you are using the new version of the Betfair site. Please click this link to navigate to the new site and choose it as your default version.
If you have any further questions please refer to: Frequently Asked Questions
Alternatively our helpdesk will be pleased to assist you. We’d like to ask for your patience when contacting them as they are expecting to receive a high volume of enquiries in the first few days. The best way to contact them is via email to deutsch@betfair.com.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Best regards
Betfair Service Team
Betting Assistant will reject your login reporting that your subscription has expired. This will not be the case, it will be because the login is not authorised to access the API. This will be totally beyond our control.