Bwin.Party Experiencing Legal Problems in Portugal

The Portuguese court has ruled that Bwin.Party should not be allowed to sponsor Portuguese football teams in a ruling that has shocked both the entire online gambling industry and European lawmakers who claim the ruling is in violation of EU fair trade laws.

The problems started back in 2005, long before Bwin and Party Gaming merged to form Bwin.Party – the world’s largest publicly traded online gaming company in the world. Back then Bwin had an extensive sponsorship deal with the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) and was one of the main sponsors of the Portuguese Football League Cup. It also sponsored other sports and famous athletes in the country.

The lengthy court battle was initiated by the Portuguese Casino Association which teamed up with the Portuguese national lottery provider Santa Casa to file a complaint with the courts regarding the advertising activities and lack of taxation of Bwin.

They claimed that as a non-Portuguese company Bwin is not taxed the way they are taxed for the gambling activity and this puts Bwin at a financial advantage compare to local gambling businesses.

A preliminary ruling from last year which stated that Bwin’s activities in the country were illegal due to Portugal’s lack of recognition of online operators as legal entities.

Now the final ruling was handed in which will force the LPEP to remove all of Bwin.Party advertising and could be harmful to the future of the league.

Bwin.Party spokesperson said: “The court failed to take into account EU law. One cannot aggressively advertise and expand games on the one hand and keep foreign competition out on the other hand”.

Both Bwin.Party and the LPEP are planning to appeal the ruling and take the matter before the European Commission.