Bwin Suffers Serious Internet Gambling Loss to Turkish Licensors

According to Reuters news agency, the Austrian internet gambling group Bwin Interactive Entertainment has lost no less that $3.22 million following the rejection of its application for a sportsbetting license in Turkey. The loss had been covered up for over a year, yet the recent publication of it in the Austrian magazine, Profil, has only now brought it to light.

According to the internet gambling group’s response to the media in March last year, it had decided to withdraw from the Turkish market following new internet gambling laws that prohibited games of chance. Bwin also stated that it was considering licensing the company in the future, which is what is presumed to have lead to the company’s license application.

At the time when Bwin withdrew from the Turkish market, 6% of its gross internet gambling revenues were derived from Turkey. Not participating in this market could thus mean the loss of approximately 20-25 million Euros each year, according to analysts.

Yet Bwin has recovered from a bout of similar events well. In March of 2006 it acquired the online gabling company Ongame, which lost it close to 500 million Euros. That same year in October, the company lost a similar amount when the United States introduced the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Bwin already operates in a wide range of international countries, including Croatia, Belize, Germany, Kahnawake, the K, Stockholm and Sweden.