Bwin.party defends Belgium position
Operator remains in discussions with regulator after questioning and subsequent release of co-CEO.
bwin.party has issued a statement in which it maintained its stance with regard to Belgium’s egaming regulations, following the questioning and subsequent release of co-chief executive Norbert Teufelberger in Brussels yesterday,
It states that: “bwin.party intends to continue its on-going dialogue with the BGC,” after what it says was a case of Teufelberger “[complying] voluntarily with a request to attend an interview with representatives from the Belgium Gambling Commission.
“The request to attend the interview arose from the Belgium Gambling Commission’s (‘BGC’) view that bwin.party was in breach of the country’s gambling legislation. bwin.party maintains the position that it is acting and has always acted in compliance with applicable laws,” it continued.
A spokesman for bwin.party told eGaming Review that the operator received a letter from the BGC dated 30 October saying it would like to speak to Teufelberger about bwin.party’s Belgian activities, however the letter did not arrive at the Gibraltar post office until 11 November. He added that by the time bwin.party received the correspondence, Teufelberger had already arrived in Brussels.
Bwin.party has been engaged in legal disputes with the BGC since its bwin.com domain was added to the regulator’s blacklist, and a second domain was since added. Following Teufelberger’s release yesterday, the BGC has invited him to return to Belgium on 17 December to explain the operator’s continued operation in the country.
The co-CEO had been permitted to finish his closing remarks at yesterday’s annual Responsible Gaming Event held by EGBA, the gaming lobby group with which Teufelberger serves as chairman, before entering into questioning. It had initially been believed that he had gone before police, however bwin.party claims he was only questioned for two hours by “representatives from the Belgian Gaming Commission.”
In a joint statement with co-CEO Jim Ryan, Teufelberger said: “We have been at the forefront of regulatory change in Europe for several years and we have licences in Gibraltar, Alderney, Denmark, France, Germany (Schleswig-Holstein), Italy and Spain. We continue to strive for a regulatory framework in European Member States that is compliant with EU law.”
Last month saw the publication of the European Commission action plan on online gambling, which pledged to ensure all national egaming legislation remains compliant with EU law as a “Prerequisite of a successful EU policy on online gambling.”
Belgium’s legislation, which requires operators to have a presence in the country before they can obtain a licence, has been queried by EGBA in the past with regards to a potential non-compatibility with EU regulations.