Centrebet PTY Ltd sued in Norway - Supreme Court Approves

20.10.2010

Mr Bjarte Baasland used various internet based betting services for a number of years, and in the end he had accumulated a total loss of approximately 7,5 million Euros. Centrebet was one of two services he used the most, and in 2009 he initiated legal proceedings against the Australian company. Mr Baasland claims that he was a gaming addict and that Centrebet should have stopped his gaming and should not have enticed him to further gaming. The legal proceedings were initiated in Norway, and Centrebet asked the court for a dismissal, claiming that Norway was not an applicable legal venue. Both the City Court and the Appeal Court accepted Centrebet's argument and wanted to dismiss the case. However, the Supreme Court turned it all around, and Centrebet will now be part of legal proceedings before Norwegian courts.

Centrebet is based in Australia and holds no offices in Norway. However, Centrebet had established a Norwegian homepage, and the users were able to establish Norwegian profiles. Centrebet held a Norwegian bank account and operated with values stated in Norwegian crowns. Centrebet had also established a Norwegian toll-free telephone number, and this was operated by Norwegian consultants supplying user support. Supreme Court also pointed to the fact that Centrebet had engaged a Norwegian citizen in Norway as a Director of Marketing and PR.

Mr Baasland was a Norwegian citizen. However, for long periods, during which he used the betting services, he lived in hotels in Berlin and Prague. In the relevant period he was actually more outside of Norway than he was in Norway. The question therefore arose whether or not this excluded him from selecting Norway as a legal venue. As mentioned, both the City Court and the Appeal Court found this to be the case, but the Supreme Court concluded otherwise.

As an after note, the Norwegian political climate is currently rather hostile against foreign companies supplying betting services to Norwegian citizens over the Internet. Early 2010 new legislation was adopted, prohibiting banks and other payment service providers from transferring the stakes and the prizes between Norwegian citizens and foreign gaming services not holding a Norwegian licence. It will be interesting to follow the Centrebet case when the question of liability is to be decided.

The Supreme Court decision may be found here.