bwin.party defends actions

According to a report from the Reuters news service, Teufelberger, who also serves as Chairman for the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) trade group, was interviewed by Belgian law enforcement officials for two hours on Tuesday but was subsequently released without charge.

“The request to attend the interview arose from the Belgium Gambling Commission's view that bwin.party was in breach of the country's gambling legislation,” read a statement from bwin.party.

“bwin.party maintains the position that it is acting and has always acted in compliance with applicable laws.”

Gibraltar-based bwin.party continues to accept players based in Belgium via its Bwin.com brand despite not holding an appropriate license. The European nation regulated online gambling earlier this year but recently added Bwin.com to a blacklist of prohibited sites while licensing competitors including PokerStars and PartouchePoker. The operator revealed that this ban is costing it €700,000 a month in revenues but hopes to hold further discussions with representatives from the Belgium Gambling Commission.

“We have been at the forefront of regulatory change in Europe for several years and we have licences in Gibraltar, Alderney, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain,” read a statement from Teufelberger and fellow Co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan. “We continue to strive for a regulatory framework in European member states that is compliant with European Union law.”