Betclic faces criminal sanctions from Belgian authorities
Around 600,000 seized from financial institutions following allegations Betclic was transacting with Belgian players
Betclic Everest Group could be facing a 1.2 million fine after the Belgian Public Prosecution Office (PPO) seized around 600,000 in connection to transactions allegedly made to betclic.com, eGaming Review understands.
The money has been held after the PPO received information from a number of financial institutions that Betclic had been in receipt of payments from customers based within the Belgian borders, despite the operator not holding a Belgian operating licence.
Should the PPO decide to prosecute the operator, it is also possible one or more board members held responsible for the breach of law could face a prison sentence of between six months and five years.
However, eGR understands that the Belgium’s regulatory regime has been placed on notice by the European Commission for violating EU law, offering Betclic the scope to argue that no penalties should be administered for breaching an unlawful regime.
Betclic was not available for comment at the time of writing.
Betclic.com was placed on the Belgian Gaming Commission’s blacklist in May 2012 and any operator thought to be targeting Belgium-based customers could be hit with a 600,000 fine, which the regulator has the power to double dependent on the nature of the breach.
In addition, players thought to be knowingly playing on blacklisted sites could also face a financial penalty and authorities are now analysing information provided by financial institutions in order to determine if any action will be taken.
If the PPO decides to prosecute Betclic, the operator would be the first to be hit with criminal sanctions in the country. In 2012 bwin.party was investigated in a similar case however the operator struck a deal with local casino Groupe Partouche to head-off any potential legal action.
Only operators holding a land-based licence in Belgium are eligible for a dot.be licence with a number of Power 50 operators including bet365, William Hill and 888 all currently present on the regulator’s blacklist.
The Commission has already issued the maximum number of online operating licences, which is currently limited to 35 for online sports betting and nine for online casinos, and Betlic has reportedly not informed the regulator of any pending tie-up with a land-based licence holder.
Belgian authorities had requested that its banks block all egaming transactions from unlicensed operators, however, this has yet to be actioned with banks contesting that the regulator has so far failed to sufficiently identify the illegal operators.
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