Ladbrokes 'Actively Considering' Appeal on Norwegian Setback

Ladbrokes has confirmed with IGamingNews that it is "actively considering" whether to appeal a ruling handed down by the City Court of Oslo Friday, which saw the London bookie denied a license to operate in Norway.

"Going back to 2004 we applied for a license to operate in Norway, but because there was a state monopoly, it was likely that they were going to turn us down," Ciaran O'Brien, a spokesman for Ladbrokes, said by telephone today. "But what it did do was flag up the conflict between Norwegian state monopoly law and European law."

After Norway turned down Ladbrokes' initial license application -- which covered both retail and remote sports betting offerings -- the company challenged the decision in Norwegian court on the basis that the country's gambling policy contravened European Economic Area rules.

The case was ultimately appealed to the European Free Trade Association Court, which has jurisdiction in matters regarding EFTA members -- Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein -- that are also members of the EEA.

According to Mr. O'Brien, the Norwegian court in 2007 sent questions to the EFTA Court regarding the legislative underpinnings of Norway's gambling monopoly. In May of that year, the EFTA Court decreed that those underpinnings must be suitable, consistent and proportionate.

In May 2008, against the backdrop of the 2007 EFTA Court ruling, the Ladbrokes case was heard in Oslo City Court. Friday's judgment, then, upheld the validity of Norway's monopoly.

"The court found that the current monetary game laws in society give people the most effective protection against the dangers of gaming," Trond Giske, Norway's minister of culture and church affairs, said in a prepared statement. "The verdict is also an important signal in support of the European tradition that each country has the most effective control of gaming."

The court has also instructed Ladbrokes to pay the government 1.1 million Norwegian kronor -- approximately $178,000 -- to cover its legal fees.

"We are disappointed with the ruling and will now analyze the results carefully before we proceed," Lasse Dilschmann, the chief executive of Ladbrokes' Scandinavian operations, said in a prepared statement. "But we will tirelessly continue to challenge the state monopoly, which, in our view, lacks the necessary competition and is negative for all games, consumers and society."

Mr. Dilschmann has agreed to speak with IGN later this week on the ruling. More on this story as it develops.