EUROMAT News Bulletin


EUROMAT News Bulletin

MEMBER STATE NEWS

13/06/12 – The Court of First Instance of Brussels has delivered its ruling in the Bwin.Party case which was initiated by Bwin after it was included in the blacklist of unlicensed gambling operators created by the Belgian Gaming Commission. The Court decided to reject the case based on the premise that the “bwin.com” site, which has not applied for a licence, is operating illegally in Belgium. However, the Court also rejected a counter-claim by the Belgian state requesting Bwin to pay a fine of 300.000 Euros per day and stop all online activities aimed at Belgian consumers. Bwin.Party could still appeal the decision, but would have to face a lengthy process.

13/06/12 – Spain’s gambling regulator, Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGoJ), has announced its intention to allow the country’s online gamblers to play with those of Italy and France. Enrique Alejo, DGoJ’s Director General, explained that discussions are still in a very preliminary stage with both countries. However, the UK is also seen as a future possibility.

11/06/12 – In the UK, the Gambling Commission is monitoring social gaming sites to determine if they should be treated the same as traditional real money online gambling sites. The Commission is reportedly investigating whether or not many of the free games on social gaming sites actually qualify as gambling. If so, they will have to be regulated like any other form of internet gambling, such as online poker or sports betting. According to John Travers, corporate affairs manager for the Gambling Commission, "the key question is, is it gambling or not? We are monitoring developments and assessing any wider implications for licensing objectives."