French court acquits bwin execs

BWIN chief executive officer Norbert Teufelberger and former co-chief executive officer Manfred Bodner were reportedly acquitted of infringing French gambling law between 2003 and 2005 by a French court in Nanterre (see previous reports) late last week.

La Française des Jeux and Pari-Mutuel Urbain laid the initial complaints against BWIN for its football team sponsorships and online gambling activities in the French market at the time but although later withdrawing those complaints, French authorities continued to pursue the complaint asking the Court to impose a Euro 40 000 fine against each defendant.

Our readers will recall Bodner and Teufelberger being briefly detained by French police in 2006 during the launch of its sponsorship of football team AS Monaco.

The court handed down an oral judgment acquitting Bodner and Teufelberger, however, the prosecution has ten days in which to appeal the ruling.

“Our view of European Union Law has now been confirmed. BWIN violated no laws in France,” said a legal representative for BWIN.

Written judgment is expected to follow in the coming weeks.