Bet-at-home warns of liquidity risk due to Austrian exit

The gaming operator warns it may not have sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations but German licence on the way.

Germany.- Bet-at-home has warned that it faces an increased risk of not being able to meet financial obligations due to the impact of its decision to leave the Austrian market due to legal issues. On top of the Austrian exit, Bet-at-home has also surrendered its British gaming licence and withdrawn from that market, too.

The company has raised its assessment of its liquidity risk level to “medium”, noting that it faced uncertainty in its cash flow, assets and liabilities and that even small negative shocks could result in a shortfall.

It said: “If the bet-at-home.com AG Group is unable to provide corresponding collateral in the form of bank guarantees, existing cash and cash equivalents would have to be deposited as security.

“The remaining freely available liquidity could prove to be critical even in the event of minor negative deviations from the existing planning if, in addition, a significant reduction in liquidity were to occur due to payments to Bet-at-home.com Entertainment Ltd. and to the Maltese tax authorities.”

There is one ray of hope on the horizon for Bet-at-home since it says it’s received assurances from Saxony-Anhalt State Administration Office that it will be issued a German online casino licence. It expects to receive the licence by the end of the year.

To date, the Saxony-Anhalt state administration office, which remains responsible for licensing until the end of this year, has issued nine online casino licences. The latest licence went to Solar Operations. Germany’s tight regulations and high tax on online slots rate mean that so far most licensees have been connected to well-established land-based gaming operations.

Bet-at-home made the decision to exit Austria after losing a legal battle against former customers who were seeking compensation from gambling losses to unlicensed operators. To avoid a drawn-out and costly legal battle, the operator opted to leave the market and wind down the Maltese subsidiary through which it operated there.

This July, the operator took the decision to also leave the British market after the Gambling Commission suspended its licence due to suspected anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings.