Belgium counters bwin legal claim
EU member state seeks 300,000 for every day blacklisted operator "continues illegal activities".
Belgian authorities have issued a counter-claim against bwin.party after the operator sought damages over its bwin brand’s inclusion on the country’s egaming blacklist.
Bwin was among 10 operators added to the Belgian blacklist earlier this month, along with fellow London-listed operators Betfair and William Hill, but launched legal proceedings in pursuit of 300,000 for every day it remained on the list.
However the Belgian state has proceeded to issue a counter-claim calling for the same amount to be paid for every day the operator continues its illegal activities in the jurisdiction.
Bwin issued a written response last Wednesday to a submission from the government two days earlier. The counter-claim was filed on Thursday ahead of a court hearing last Friday, with the president of the court revealing that he hoped to issue a ruling before the deadline one month after the hearing.
A lawyer representing the Belgian government told eGaming Review that the counter-claim also calls for the operator to stop circumventing the block by targeting customers through other domains, as well as ordering it to refund stakes from its alleged illegal operations.
Bwin.party had initially applied for both land-based and online sports betting licences under the bwin.fr brand “ with the former required in order for the latter to be approved under Belgian regulations “ but is understood to have continued serving customers through its dot.com domain.
A spokesperson for the Belgian Gaming Commission has revealed to eGR that the counter-claim also calls for the same punishment “If they continue sending emails to players indicating on which other illegal websites of Bwin they still can gamble,” explaining that “By such mailings they are inciting Belgian citizens to commit crimes.”
He added that “We think they don’t have good arguments to win a case,” stating that “We are expecting a clear judgment taking into account the judgment of the Constitutional Court that has clearly said the Belgium Gaming Act is compatible with EU law, the use of the tool of a blacklist is undoubtedly related [to] that Gaming Act.”
The Belgian blacklist now contains 30 names, more than the number of operators licensed to offer online gambling in the country. Earlier additions to the list include 888 and Winamax. Bwin is the only blacklisted operator to have launched legal proceedings against the country’s authorities.
When contacted by eGR this morning a spokesman for bwin.party declined to comment.
(Photo courtesy of Mike Hammerton under Creative Commons licence)