A few “lucky” Romanian punters who wagered on Bet365 sites were recently offered the opportunity to talk about their gambling activities with local gaming authorities. It’s all part of a baffling feud between the well-regarded operator and the Romanian licensing authority it’s been cooperating with for a very long time.
At the heart of the dispute is the Romanian gambling regulatory agency, the National Gambling Office (ONJN) and its desire to keep Romanian punters on licensed betting sites.
To that end, the ONJN asked all provisional gaming license holders, including Bet365, to refrain from taking action from Romanian players for one month beginning on September 10, 2015. This is where Bet365’s story and the ONJN’s stories head off in different directions.
The ONJN says that multiple Bet365 players continued betting after the ban, a claim that Bet365 vehemently denies.
Regardless, the ONJN “invited” those players to come to their offices for a little chat. During the chat, the players were also invited to pay a fine for illegally betting on sports.
Not only is Bet365 challenging the ONJN’s claims, they’re backing up their players.
According to a report on CalvinAyre.com, Bet365 is providing Romanian players who’ve been questioned by the ONJN with the names of local counsel where they can seek assistance with the matter. Bet365 is even picking up the cost of those meetings as well.
They’re also telling those players to hold off on paying their fines until the matter is resolved, which makes sense. Any player who pays the fines is, in effect, admitting Bet365’s guilt and that’s something no operator wants, especially one that hasn’t done anything wrong.
Until this matter is completely resolved, the two sides are agreeing to disagree.