Bwin.party ordered to cease all Portuguese advertising and sponsorship
Operator confirms it will appeal against the decision but agrees to suspend activities - Betclic and Betfair could also be affected by ruling
A Portuguese court has ruled that bwin.party’s online gaming activities are illegal and that the operator must remove all of its advertising and sponsorship from national sporting competitions “ a move that could affect other European operators including Betclic and Betfair.
The court case began in 2005 when the Portuguese Casino Association and the national lottery operator Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa filed a complaint against bwin’s operations in the market. The two bodies alleged that the Austrian operator had an unfair advantage, as it was not subject to taxation or legislation under the terms of Portuguese law.
Currently Santa Casa is the only operator licensed to offer lottery and sports betting in Portugal. This was extended to include electronic services in 2003, making it illegal for other companies to offer online betting.
A preliminary ruling last year ruled that as Portugal does not recognise online gambling operators, aside from the incumbent monopoly, bwin’s activities in the market were illegal. However, this has not deterred European operators from entering the market. Betfair is active in Portugal, while Betclic is the shirt sponsor for 28 football teams according to its website. It is unclear whether this ruling will lead to a wider ban on egaming operators sponsoring teams, or affect their continued activities in the market. When contacted, Betfair refused to comment.
The ruling throws the future of bwin’s 4m deal to sponsor the Portuguese league cup into jepoardy. Bwin was previously also the main sponsor of the Portuguese football first division, which was known as Liga betandwin.com in the 2005-6 season, and Liga bwin until 2008, when the beer brand Sagres took over sponsorship.
While bwin.party has announced that it will suspend all sponsorship activities, a spokesman confirmed that it will appeal the decision with the support of the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP), claiming it contravenes EU law: “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.”
Bwin’s lawyer Eduardo Serra Jorge told Yahoo! Sport: “It is time for the state to legislate and tax online gambling instead of banning it. Regulating it is in the interest of the consumer, the economy and the state budget.”