BetandWin.com’s sponsorship of soccer league probed

Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005 | 10:06 a.m.

Portugal will probe online gaming company BetandWin.com Interactive Entertainment AG's sponsorship of the country's national soccer league after doubts were raised over its legality.

Vienna-based BetandWin.com signed a four-year accord with the league Aug. 18 to put its logo on uniforms of the 36 top clubs.

State-run gaming monopoly Santa Casa de Misericordia objected, saying that online betting companies are operating without a license in Portugal and to promote them is illegal.

This season's Portuguese league, now called Liga betandwin.com, started Aug. 21.

The case will today be referred to the Attorney General's Office by Laurentino Dias, Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, his spokesman Isaac Pereira said by telephone.

He didn't know how long the probe may take. Karin Klein, a spokeswoman for BetandWin.com, said the company had no immediate comment as it had only "second-hand" information about the probe.

It's the latest conflict in southern Europe between online and state-run betting operators as they compete for market share.

The $16.6 billion European Internet-betting market will grow by 9.6 percent over the next two years, while traditional gambling will decline by 3.5 percent, according to West Bromwich, England-based Global Betting & Gaming Consultants.

Authorities in Greece and Italy have also launched legal challenges against online gaming companies, saying they are operating illegally.

The 222-year-old Lisbon-based Santa Casa de Misericordia, which means "Sacred House of Mercy," has annual income of 1.1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) and donates its entire profit of 350 million euros to charity. Less than 10 percent of its revenue comes from soccer betting.

BetandWin.com was founded in 1999 and had record sales of 314.2 million euros last year. It gets 67 percent of its revenue from soccer betting.

The company said Aug. 12 its second-quarter marketing costs rose 58 percent to 32.9 million euros. It didn't disclose the terms of its accord with the Portuguese league.