Belgian Court Confirms Measures Taken by Belgian Authorities against Illegal Online Gaming Operator
June, 2012 - Brussels, Belgium
In a judgment delivered on 13 June, the President of the Court of First Instance of Brussels has denied a request by BwinParty, operator of the online gambling website www.bwin.com, to order the Belgian Gaming Commission to remove www.bwin.com from its blacklist and to unblock access to it. The President found that BwinParty’s request had no legal merit.
The Belgian authorities’ policy is to only allow online gambling within the legal framework set up by the Gambling Act, which was thoroughly scrutinised before it entered into force and therefore has a solid legal basis.
The Belgian Gaming Commission was given the specific task of protecting Belgian citizens from illegal gambling operators, and so it only grants gambling licences to operators whose activities meet all the requirements of the Gambling Act.
The Gaming Commission is also responsible for informing the public about illegal gambling, and does this by publishing a black list of illegal gambling websites that are unlicensed and do not comply with Belgian legislation. It then works with Belgian internet service providers to block access to these sites by Belgian internet users.
Philippe Vlaemminck, who has specialised in gambling law for over 20 years, and is now a partner at ALTIUS commented:
“The Gaming Commission’s blacklist is an effective and legal means of informing the public that certain websites do not meet the legal requirements and are therefore illegal. This allows Belgian internet users to avoid these sites and thus the risk of criminal sanctions.”
Philippe Vlaemminck is very pleased that the judge has confirmed that the policy and initiatives of the Gaming Commission are legal, thus boosting the efforts to protect consumers from illegal gambling website operators in Belgium.
“It is furthermore only normal that an online gambling operator that willfully chose to undertake illegal activities cannot expect protection from the Belgian courts. Had the court granted BwinParty’s request, it would have been astonishing and would have been a slippery slope leading to all sorts of abuses. Those who choose to operate outside the law cannot then claim its protection”, Bart Heynickx, a litigation specialist at ALTIUS added.
BwinParty is one of the biggest internet gambling operators in the world and owns www.bwin.com. It has stated that it has no intention to comply with Belgian gambling legislation and has been a vocal critic of Belgian online gambling policy for many years. It has never applied for a gambling licence for its website www.bwin.com and has chosen to knowingly operate it illegally in Belgium.
BwinParty has also been facing legal problems in other jurisdictions.
On 9 May 2012, www.bwin.com was blacklisted by the Belgian Gaming Commission, and access to the site was blocked by Belgian internet service providers shortly afterwards.
BwinParty had initiated summary proceedings before the President of the Court of First Instance of Brussels to have access to its website unblocked. The President rejected BwinParty’s claim in its judgment of today.
The Belgian Gaming Commission was successfully represented in court by Philippe Vlaemminck and Bart Heynickx of the law firm ALTIUS, which enjoys an excellent reputation in the field of gambling law and litigation..
The Gaming & Gambling team at ALTIUS has an in-depth knowledge of gaming policies and regulations. Philippe Vlaemminck, the Partner who heads the team, has played a leading role in advising EU institutions on these matters for more than 20 years. Together with the renowned ALTIUS Litigation team, he has also advised and acted on behalf of government bodies and gambling operators in Belgium, other European countries and elsewhere.
