Belgian authorities have arrested bwin.party co-CEO and European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) president Norbert Teufelberger on 13 November. Teufelberger was in Brussels participating in the Responsible Gaming Day conference on regulating online gaming in the EU. He was one of the spokespersons of the conference, although he could never give his speech.
Norbert Teufelberger
While no official account of the arrest has surfaced yet, it appears that Teufelberger was placed into custody on charges of violating the Belgian gaming regulations. In 2012, the Belgian government legalised online poker and allowed licensed rooms only to provide services on the market. However, bwin.party continued to operate in the country, despite lacking a Belgian licence.
The bwin.com domain was blacklisted in the country in May this year, followed by the internet providers banning the site for Belgian citizens, in addition to introducing a fine for users playing in unauthorised rooms. Bwin.party then launched www2.bwin.com to bypass the ban of the internet providers; this domain was blacklisted in July.
The company moved on to sue the Belgian Gaming Commission for violating EU regulations as well as the Belgian constitution with their licence conditions. The court has dismissed the case and then fined bwin.party for €75,000 for violating Belgian law. The Gaming Commission stated that a provider deliberately violating the state regulations cannot expect the Belgian Court to protect them.
Arresting Teufelberger, therefore, can be considered the next step in the case of bwin.party v. Belgian Gaming Commission. Any updates on the issue will be published here on Rakerace.com.
Norbert Teufelberger
While no official account of the arrest has surfaced yet, it appears that Teufelberger was placed into custody on charges of violating the Belgian gaming regulations. In 2012, the Belgian government legalised online poker and allowed licensed rooms only to provide services on the market. However, bwin.party continued to operate in the country, despite lacking a Belgian licence.
The bwin.com domain was blacklisted in the country in May this year, followed by the internet providers banning the site for Belgian citizens, in addition to introducing a fine for users playing in unauthorised rooms. Bwin.party then launched www2.bwin.com to bypass the ban of the internet providers; this domain was blacklisted in July.
The company moved on to sue the Belgian Gaming Commission for violating EU regulations as well as the Belgian constitution with their licence conditions. The court has dismissed the case and then fined bwin.party for €75,000 for violating Belgian law. The Gaming Commission stated that a provider deliberately violating the state regulations cannot expect the Belgian Court to protect them.
Arresting Teufelberger, therefore, can be considered the next step in the case of bwin.party v. Belgian Gaming Commission. Any updates on the issue will be published here on Rakerace.com.
