Codere is scheduled to file legal proceedings at the Madrid Commercial Court against online gaming operator bwin and La Liga football club Real Madrid for what Codere claims were illegal advertising practices in the Spanish jurisdiction.
Codere is bringing the filing under Spain’s Unfair Competition Law as the company claims bwin and the Real Madrid football team engaged in an aggressive and illegal advertising for games of chance stating,
“has not been previously authorized by the responsible Authority or made subject to any statutory condition, neither is it protected by European Union cross-border laws”.
Do you have permit for that? That’s the question bwin and the La Liga Football club Real Madrid will have to find an acceptable answer for.
According to a statement from Codere’s lawyers, “Authorized gambling operators in Spain are not permitted to advertise or may only do so subject to stringent restrictions and after obtaining authorization from the Authority… Neither are authorized operators able to operate games through the Internet, although they have the necessary technology and expertise to do so, since these games are prohibited in Spain and in some cases may be activities liable for prosecution in the context of criminal law.”
Perhaps bwin didn’t get that part of the law and if they’re found in violation, it could be costly. The complaint launched by Codere is more like a demand to cease and desist all advertising campaigns and it calls for the termination of the sponsorship agreement between Real Madrid and bwin.
Codere isn’t just picking on bwin, they’ve taken the gloves off since jumping into the industry and they’ll be launching suits against all advertising practices they consider questionable in Spain.
