/ THE BRIEFING / NEWS
FRANCE
BELGIUM
BETCLIC WITHDRAWS ALL
BRANDS FROM BELGIAN MARKET
Betclic Everest has withdrawn
its brands from the Belgian
market as the country’s
Public Prosecution Office
(PPO) continues its criminal
investigation into the operator’s
alleged unlicensed activity. In
February, eGR reported that
Betclic could face a fine of up
to €1.2m after the PPO seized
around €600,000 in connection
with transactions said to be made
to betclic.com. The operator
doesn’t hold one of the country’s
35 remote operating licences.
Betclic Everest operates brands
Betclic, Bet-At-Home, Expekt
and Everest.
S PA I N
GREECE
OPAP PROFITS DOWN 72%
FOLLOWING TAX HIT
Greek monopoly OPAP saw
its 2013 profits tumble by
72% to €141.1m following the
country’s introduction of a
30% tax on gross gaming
revenue. OPAP CEO Kamil
Ziegler said it has been a
“difficult year for the Greek
economy”, with the amount
paid by OPAP under the new
tax regime revealed to be
€345m. The operator also said
it was hopeful it would launch
its new GTECH-powered
sportsbook prior to the World
Cup after previously stating
the target to be unrealistic.
GERMANY
GERMANY
sMybet awarded €11.5m after lottery legal battle
Mybet has hailed its award of €11.5m in damages from
German state lottery company Westdeutsche Lotterie as a
“big success”, drawing the six-year legal battle to a close.
In April, the Higher Regional Court of Dusseldorf ruled in
favour of FLUXX, a subsidiary of mybet, after it accused
the German Lottery and Pools Organisation of preventing it
from marketing its lottery agency operations in the country.
Mybet filed for compensation in 2008, claiming that, as a
consequence of the organisation’s actions, it was forced to
abandon its German lottery business, then called JAXX.
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