Ladbrokes drops Norwegian legal challenge

The company no longer considers its interests are best served in continuing the case.
Ladbrokes has dropped a long-running legal challenge to Norway’s gambling monopoly, reports Gambling Compliance.
The challenge was initiated in 2004 after Ladbrokes request to operate on and off –line horserace and sports betting games was rejected by the Norwegian Government.
Ladbrokes claimed that laws restricting Norway’s commercial gambling markets solely to games offered by state-owned firms Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto were in violation of European Economic Area rules, but has since been defeated in decisions rendered both in Norway and at the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court in Luxembourg.
The company had the right to appeal to the Norwegian High Court, however, a spokesman has said “that it no longer considered that its interests would be best served by continuing the case”.
The company denies any link to the recent ECJ ruling against Bwin and their decision to withdraw from this case and have said that Ladbrokes’ European Court of Justice challenge against the Dutch internet gambling monopoly would continue.

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