Tipp24 AG: Tipp24’s online lottery brokerage still allowed in Berlin

Tipp24 AG / Miscellaneous/Miscellaneous

Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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At the Administrative Court of Berlin, Tipp24 AG has recorded an important victory in its fight against the new State Treaty on Gaming. The Administrative Court decided against the federal state of Berlin, stating that the central regulations of the State Treaty on Gaming did not apply to commercial lottery brokers such as Tipp24 as they contained excessive restrictions with regard to the freedom to provide services.
This applies explicitly also to the time after 1 January 2009. According to the new State Treaty, which came into effect on 1 January 2008, online lottery brokerage is to be completely forbidden from this date onwards.
The decision is the first verdict achieved by Tipp24 in principal proceedings of an administrative court and thus of particular importance for Tipp24. Following the administrative court’s verdict, Tipp24 still does not require state permission in Berlin for the brokerage of state lotteries with no more than two weekly draws. The obligation to seek permission and the banning of online lottery brokerage were not compatible with the freedom to provide services. Moreover, the court judged that the legal requirement stating that lottery tips may only be submitted to the lottery company of the federal state in which the player was located when submitting the tip was disproportionate and inapplicable. Finally, the court also declared that the legal restrictions placed on Tipp24’s advertising inside and outside the internet contravened valid law. Tipp24’s business model of receiving commission fees from state lotteries also remains permissible: the prohibition of commission in Berlin’s law has no legal validity (Administrative Court of Berlin, Case Number VG 35 A 15.08).
The federal state of Berlin can still appeal against the verdict.

Additional information:
ISIN: DE0007847147
WKN: 784714
Trading: Official Market / Prime Standard; Frankfurt Stock Exchange Registered office: Germany


Tipp24 AG       
Frank Hoffmann       
Investor Relations   
Tel.:  +49 40 32 55 33-142     
Fax:  +49 40 32 55 33- 5100  
E-mail: frank.hoffmann@tipp24.de     
Internet: www.tipp24-ag.de  



24.09.2008  Financial News transmitted by DGAP

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Language:     English
Issuer:       Tipp24 AG
              Straßenbahnring 11-13
              20251 Hamburg
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (0)40 325533-0
Fax:          +49 (0)40 325533-77
E-mail:       office@tipp24.de
Internet:     www.tipp24-ag.de
ISIN:         DE0007847147
WKN:          784714
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart  
End of News DGAP News-Service  

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