Betsson Launches European Commission Complaint Against Dutch Government

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Jul 14, 2017

Swedish online gambling group takes the big stick approach to what it claims is confusion in the Dutch market

The Betsson online gambling group announced Friday that it has launched a complaint with the European Commission regarding what it claims is “the continued and flagrant breach by the Dutch authorities of EU law” regarding online gambling.

The Betsson statement announces:

“As an EU licenced and serious operator, Betsson have now written to the European Commission outlining the continued and flagrant breach by the Dutch authorities of EU law. The complaint details the ongoing infringements of the fundamental principles upon which the EU has been founded.

“Betsson view the ongoing confusion in the Dutch market as unacceptable. We have therefore submitted an official complaint to the European Commission. The current law in the Netherlands is not in line with EU law and we have therefore asked the Commission to re-open the infringement proceedings that were initiated against the Netherlands in 2006,” says Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO and President, Betsson AB.

“In the face of the Netherlands’ continued failure to implement an EU compliant legal framework, Betsson must trust in the ability and authority of the European Commission to step in and take all action necessary to ensure that the Netherlands complies with its EU Treaty obligations. A compliant legal framework would remove the confusion and instability that the actions of the Dutch gaming authority, KSA, are creating for Dutch consumers at present. In addition, Betsson trusts the Commission to ensure that the KSA immediately refrains from continued enforcement of a law, which has already been the subject of infringement proceedings by the Commission.”

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