BERLIN - Focus magazine reported on Sunday that Germany’s 16 federal states want to prevent foreign companies from offering Internet betting services. New legislation which is to be signed off by state premiers on December 13 2006 will mean that both foreign and German firms will be prohibited from offering online betting. Either Internet service providers will be asked to filter out Gambling Web sites or banks will be instructed not to transfer money out of Germany to pay for bets.

The state of Saxony and two other states recently imposed a ban on commercial betting as they attempt to protect their lucrative monopoly as lottery operators.

The ban was directed mainly at Austrian Internet betting firm bwin.com, whose German unit is the country’s biggest commercial bookmaker.