The German Professional Sports Initiative (IPD) unveiled a five-point plan for the coming months. The programme focusses on the legal framework of the IPD’s central marketing policy in areas such as media rights, as well as the issues of ancillary copyright for professional sport, the fight against digital- and brand piracy and a commitment to equitable tax and social insurance parameters for professional athletes.

The restructuring of the sports betting market is one topic very much in the spotlight, in view of the reevaluation of Germany's Interstate Treaty on Gambling currently getting underway.

"We're advocating a controlled opening-up of the sports betting market to the private sector, whilst maintaining the state monopoly for the lottery. This should go hand-in-hand with a guarantee of sustained financial support for amateur and mass-participation sports," said Christian Seifert, chief executive officer of the DFL and IPD spokesman. The IPD is of the view that the existing monopolistic structure for sports betting has been a failure in several regards with bookmakers, honest punters and sport itself all suffering as a result; in addition to which, the declared goal of preventing gambling addiction has manifestly fallen short. In the light of all of which, the initiative is planning to host a workshop, probably in May, for representatives from the worlds of sport, politics, business and science, aimed at formulating concrete measures for the restructuring of the sports betting market.

In order to maintain the integrity of professional sport, avoid rigged betting, combat digital piracy and ensure that funds flow back into sport from the betting industry, the IPD has called for the swift introduction of legislation to protect the organisers of sporting competitions. It also regards current product protection laws to be inadequate and is calling for the government to provide more support in implementing existing brand piracy legislation.

On the matter of the central marketing of media rights, the IPD has called for the enactment of European guidelines in order to reach a unified definition of competition law and eliminate all ongoing points of legal uncertainty. In order to be able to compete on a level footing with equivalent organisations and leagues in other European states, the IPD further wants to see the introduction of detailed tax legislation, reworked in accordance with the requirements of modern professional sport.

The German Football League (DFL), Beko Basketball Bundesliga, German Ice Hockey League and the TOYOTA Handball Bundesliga all joined forces to found the German Professional Sports Initiative (IPD) in November 2009 in order to promote their common interests as sports event organisers.

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