bwin.party in breach of gambling laws, says Belgian authorities

Norbert Teufelberger, the co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of online gaming firm bwin.party digital entertainment, faced two hours of questioning from Belgian authorities on Tuesday on concerns that the company has breached Belgium's gambling laws.

Yesterday, press reports emerged that Teufelberger had been detained by police for questioning after the 'Responsible Gaming Day' conference in Brussels, an industry conference about responsible gaming and regulation which he chaired.

bwin.party released a subsequent statement saying that he was complying voluntarily with the request for an interview.

In Wednesday's press release, the company revealed the Belgium Gambling Commission's (BGC's) view that bwin.party was "in breach of the country's gambling legislation".

The company responded, saying: "bwin.party maintains the position that it is acting and has always acted in compliance with applicable laws."

Teufelberger left the country as originally planned and the group continues to talk with the BGC about the issue.

Teufelberger and co-CEO Jim Ryan said: "We have been at the forefront of regulatory change in Europe for several years and we have licences in Gibraltar, Alderney, Denmark, France, Germany (Schleswig-Holstein), Italy and Spain. We continue to strive for a regulatory framework in European Member States that is compliant with EU law."