Bwin Loses Online Gambling License in Argentina

It seems that times are indeed harsh for Bwin. The company's Argentine gambling license was revoked by the authorities for several serious breaches of contract.

Bwin was issued an Argentine online casino license in 2007 by the Argentine province of Misiones.

In 2008, the operator was ordered to restrict its online activities to the province only in order to avoid hurting the Loteria Nacional's nation-wide monopoly on Argentine sports betting. Bwin started a legal battle against the regulation, but this summer, the Federal Court confirmed the decision and ordered Bwin to cover the associated legal costs.

Last week, Misiones’ Provincial Institute of Lotteries and Casinos (IPLyC) announced it was revoking the licenses of Bwin and local operator Mil Jugadas for “breaches of contract”. The institute named the failure to place “mirror” of bets on the IPLyC server for wager monitoring as a reason for the revoking.

The IPLyC stated that both firms “were given the necessary time” to explain, but “they have not given satisfactory answers”. IPLyC also stated that Bwin continued to use the IPLyC logo on their site despite being given a legal order by Argentinian gambling law agencies to remove it.

Bwin is challenging the decision, adding that their Argentine site was still operational after the revoking of the license because the shutdown was a long process.

Last week bwin.party digital entertainment's co-founder and co-chief executive officer, Norbert Teufelberger was detained for two hours in Belgium because Belgian authorities claimed that his company broke the local gambling laws by not having a proper license to operate. According to bwin, everything was done according to the regulations.