by Mario Alfonsi | Published on May 24, 2012 | Updated on May 24, 2012Just days after bwin.party made the decision to move forward with paying four years of back taxes to the Spanish government, it seems that they have gotten good news – in another European nation. On Wednesday, bwin.party was one of four operators granted online sports betting licenses by the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.Licenses were also awarded to Bet365, Tipico, and Bet-at-Home. These licenses are valid for a six year term, and operators will face a 20% tax on their gaming revenue within the state. While the current licenses only cover sports betting, bwin.party released a statement saying that they believe they will receive licenses for casino games and online poker in the near future. Schleswig-Holstein is the only state in Germany currently awarding such licenses to foreign operators.Meanwhile, in Spain, another major player has decided to follow in bwin.party’s footsteps. Sportingbet Plc has become the second online gaming company to make an agreement to pay taxes on their recent operations in Spain in the hopes of improving their chances of securing an online poker license in the country.Sportingbet has not operated in the country for quite as long as bwin.party, but it still owes a substantial amount of money to the Spanish tax authority. After a self-assessment, Sportingbet claimed that they owed €14 million, as well as an additional €3.2 million in interest and surcharges.While paying the back taxes is no guarantee for getting a license, Sportingbet said they hoped it would put them in prime position to do so.“[Paying the taxes will] maximize the likelihood of securing a Spanish eGaming license,” the company said. “[We expect] the payment to qualify the Company for the Spanish eGaming licensing round which is expected to be issued on 1 June 2012.”It’s unlikely that Sportingbet has quite as much cash on hand as bwin, which helps explain why they planned to issue a £15 million bond to cover the cost of the taxes.
