Betclic to withdraw from Portugal
Operator to end sponsorship deals with 28 out of 32 professional football teams in the market after court ruling.
Betclic Everest Group has confirmed it will pull out of the Portuguese market with immediate effect following a court decision in favour of the country’s gambling monopoly Santa Casa di Misericórdia de Lisboa.
The operator said it would cease operations in the market and end sponsorship deals with all its current partners after the state monopoly alleged it was operating illegally. As a result Betclic is now liable for a 50,000 fine for each breach of the country’s egaming regulations according to Portuguese newspaper Publico.
The operator was one of the most prolific backers of teams in a number of sports in the country, sponsoring 28 out of the 32 football teams in the Portuguese professional league as well as two basketball and two handball teams, and one futsal and one hockey team.
Santa Casa had its licence to exclusively offer lottery and sports betting in the market extended to cover online in 2003, ultimately making it illegal for all other operators to egaming services in the market. This follows a similar ruling which saw bwin.party ordered to cease all advertising and sponsorship activities in the market in January this year, throwing the operator’s 4m deal to sponsor the Portuguese League Cup into doubt.
Bwin.party immediately pledged to appeal the verdict, with a spokesman saying at the time: “Portuguese laws are not in line with recent European court of justice rulings. A company can’t be allowed to advertise their own brand aggressively while keeping all competition out of the market.”
Betclic has also announced its intention to appeal but will end all activities in the market until the case is resolved.
When contacted by eGaming Review a spokesman for Betclic was unavailable for comment.