Ladbrokes Drops Norwegian Monopoly Case
21st September, 2009
According to eGaming Review, Ladbrokes has dropped its five year battle against Norway’s state monopoly but will unite with other operators to fight monopolies across Europe said the Nordic Chief.
The bookie dropped its legal battle against Norwegian authorities last week. The legal battle began back in 2004, when its licence application was turned down after the European Court of Justice’s ruling against Bwin in favour of Portugal’s state monopoly on the grounds that protecting monopolies was essential for Portugal to fight fraud.
Nordic chief executive of Ladbrokes, Lasse Dilschmann said, “the Casa verdict shows how difficult it is to get a monopoly tried under EU law, as it always ends up that the monopoly can be justified in terms of player protection and fraud prevention. We thought we could run into the same trouble as Bwin in Portugal, and that was a reason we backed out of the legal case in Norway.”
Although, Dilschmann has said he will now throw his weight behind collective efforts to challenge state gambling monopolies across Europe with trade bodies the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) and the Remote Gaming Association (RGA).
“We have a very good relationship with the European Gaming and Betting Association and the Remote Gaming Association. We feel there is more to be achieved by helping reach critical mass on these issues among the big online players across Europe,” Dilschmann commented.
By Faye
