.svg)
“From a legal perspective, we cannot lose”, says one of the lawyers masterminding the thousands of player claims that have blighted grey market gambling operators in Austria, despite attempts by Malta to block court judgments.
Dr. Karim Weber is among the small group of lawyers in Austria that have successfully prosecuted numerous cases where online gamblers have reclaimed losses from gambling companies that operated online casino games without a licence.
Many cases are now being settled, said Weber, but for those where operators continue to fight, lawyers must turn to the Maltese courts to attempt to enforce international judgments.
A large number of player refund claims have also been won in Germany and there is a growing fear among affected operators that the Netherlands could soon follow suit.
As lawyers began to transfer cases to Malta, the Maltese government introduced Bill 55, which has since passed into law, that effectively blocked the transfer of international court rulings against Malta-based online gambling companies.
Bill 55 has been met with widespread condemnation and Weber, along with a German lawyer, swiftly issued a complaint to the European Commission alleging that it breached EU laws.
The commission has confirmed it is investigating, and although it has given no timeline for a decision, Weber told Vixio GamblingCompliance that as recently as December, European Commission officials were requesting additional documents to support their inquiries.
“We are going to win in Malta in the end I am sure,” he said, speaking as part of a seminar organised by trade group European Lotteries (EL).
Phillipe Vlaemminck, veteran EU legal expert and advisor to the EL, characterised Bill 55 as “a desperate move from the Maltese authorities”.
“They know they will lose this. They know that the European Commission and other member states will take action,” he said.
Vlaemminck advised the audience of European lottery executives to convince their national governments to directly sue Malta over alleged breaches of EU rules.
Several lawyers speaking throughout the event also rubbished Bill 55’s claims that Malta can protect its gambling sector on a so-called “public order” basis, and said that although legal action against the legislation will buy affected operators time, it will not protect them for long.
“Bill 55 is the last step in Malta’s whole story as the hub for online gambling,” predicted Vlaemminck.
Weber said that he was so confident that all grey market operators would eventually be forced to pay player refund claims that he would soon begin asking hedge fund managers if they wanted to invest in paying the legal costs for some cases.
“Because over a period of four or five years, it will be a good return for them,” he said.
Most ominously for Austria’s grey market cohort, Weber said that with this additional financial backing, he would triple the number of lawsuits.
While players continue to win refund claims in Austria, cases in Germany are paused as the courts wait for the outcome of a referral from a court in Malta to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The ramifications of the case could be felt across the entire European Union and Vlaemminck said he was very confident judges would rule in favour of players.
In the meantime, operators who refuse to observe successful judgments in Germany could face the cancellation of their licences, warned a German lawyer.
“We believe that authorities could refrain from licensing Maltese operators,” said Elena Marks, an attorney with Noerr law firm in Germany, on the grounds that they are “unreliable”.
Existing licences could also be withdrawn, she warned.
