14-09-2006 BWin banned from taking bets in a second German state

The German state of Hesse has banned the Austrian internet bookmaker from taking bets on sports. Earlier in August, BWin was banned by the German state of Saxony from accepting sports bets, after that a federal court's ruling stated that a government betting monopoly is permissible.

"BWin offers sports bets and all sorts of games of chance via the Internet in Hesse and advertises these," Interior Minister Volker Bouffier said today in a statement. "Both are illegal."

Bouffier added that the internet bookmaker has one week to ensure that Hesse residents can no longer place bets on BWin's website.