SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Rotterdam District Court has ordered Betsson Group to pay €385,377 to a Dutch customer who claims to have lost substantial sums of money gaming with unlicensed websites.
The customer in question filed a suit against BML Group Limited and Corona Limited, two of Betsson Group’s subsidiaries, which hold licences for its Betsson sportsbook and Kroon Casino iGaming brands.
Betsson has been active in the Netherlands’ new look online betting space since February 2024, when it acquired Holland Gaming Technology, which holds a B2C licence under the country’s Gambling Act, for €27.5m.
However, the plaintiff in question in the Rotterdam lawsuit was staking with Betsson and Kroon prior to this takeover and so the court deemed that the group had been in breach of licensing laws.
The company has been told to pay the player €385,377 to cover losses and has also been told that it will have to pay an additional fee of €92 every day that the court order is not followed. This will start from 14 days after the court’s 9 April judgment.
International licensing frictions
This is not the first time Malta-based BML Group has found itself at loggerheads with legal or regulatory authorities in major overseas markets, with the Nordics having been a particular area of difficulty for the company.
In February 2024 – around the same time as the Holland Gaming Technology takeover – BML Group was placed on the Finnish police’s blacklist of overseas gaming sites, the move coming a year after law enforcement hit the firm with a €2.4m fine for unlicensed activity.
Similar developments have also played out in Norway, where the Lottstift regulator stated in late 2023 that Betsson was one of four websites scaling down its activities in Norway. In response, Betsson told SBC News that BML Group sites were still accessible to Norwegians, but it had made changes to minimise appeal.
Both Finland and Norway maintain gambling monopolies, with the only legal betting firms in the countries controlled by the state. Change is in the air, however, with Finland looking to adopt a multi-licence system in 2026 while similar calls are also being heard in Norway – this could open the window for Betsson to operate in both markets as a legal, licensed incumbent further down the line.
Meanwhile, regulatory and legal moves against Malta-based and licensed operators are the subject of ongoing international friction between the island nation’s government and those of other EU member states.
This specifically relates to Bill 55, legislation adopted in Malta which states that overseas courts and regulators do not have jurisdiction over Malta Gaming Authority-licensed companies.
There has been an angry response to the bill, with Germany’s GGL regulator in particular frustrated with the result. Critics of the legislation argue that it is incompatible with existing EU legal frameworks.
