Portugal risks EC action following bwin.party ruling
Portugal's ban of bwin.party's sponsorship and advertising activity contravenes EU law, says EGBA secretary general.
The Portuguese government risks European Union (EU) sanctions over its ban on bwin.party’s advertising and sponsorship activities in the market as the law prohibiting foreign egaming operators is illegal, European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA) secretary general Sigrid Ligne has told eGaming Review.
On Monday it was announced that bwin would suspend its sponsorship of Portugal’s football league cup “ a deal worth an estimated 4m a year “ following a ruling in October that deemed its activities in the market illegal and that ordered the operator to remove all advertising and sponsorship from national sporting competitions “ despite the fact the operator pledged to appeal the verdict.
“When a body states its intention to appeal a ruling, the enforcement of the ruling is normally supended, but in this ruling this has not been the case,” Ligne explained.
The court’s decision is down to the fact that the Portuguese lottery and betting monopoly Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa was granted an extension of its monopoly status in November 2003, making it the only operator allowed to offer online gaming there. The decree effectively made it illegal for foreign companies to operate in Portugal.
However, the Portuguese government was required to have the 2003 decree ratified by the European Commission (EC) under the terms of Directive 98/34/EC, which states that EU members must “notify draft technical regulations to the Commission before they are adopted.” Directive 98/34/EC also states that members may not enforce laws without EC approval, potentially risking sanctions.
Ligne also claimed that the behaviour of Santa Casa suggests that the ruling against bwin.party is an attempt to push competition out of the market: “It is clear that the monopoly does not meet the requirements of EU law. The Portuguese monopoly has a policy of dynamic advertising and expansion, so is in effect acting as a commercial operator, rather than a traditional monopoly.”
In June last year, EC Vice-President Antonio Tadjani, responsible for industry and entrepreneurship, confirmed that the documentation was not passed to the EC for ratification. As a result, Santa Casa’s online monopoly is not recognised under EU law.
This may prompt the EC to launch sanctions against Portugal, according to Ligne: “Vice-President Tajani has discretionary powers to launch infringement procedures against the Portuguese government, and now that an invalid law is likely to be enforced, it gives the European Commission momentum to launch proceedings.”