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Cobalt Successful for Betsafe Latvia in Dispute Over Restrictions on Gaming Services

Cobalt Successful Cobalt Successful for Betsafe Latvia in Dispute Over Restrictions on Gaming Servicesfor Betsafe Latvia in Dispute Over Restrictions onGaming Services

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Cobalt’s Riga office has successfully represented SIA Latsson Licensing, the owner of online gaming platform Betsafe Latvia, before the Constitutional Court of Latvia regarding the restrictions on its provision of interactive gaming services during a state of emergency.

According to Cobalt, “following the declaration of a nation-wide state of emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and with the aim to protect persons and their families from unnecessary expenditure and deterioration of their financial situation during an economic downturn, in March 2020 the Latvian Parliament imposed restrictions not only on the operation of land-based gaming venues, but also on the provision of online gaming services.” According to the firm, “having doubts regarding such restriction’s compliance with the constitutional principle of legitimate expectations and the right to property, SIA Latsson Licensing, together with a number of other gaming operators, applied before the Constitutional Court.”

Cobalt stated that as the result of Latsson Licensing’s application, “on December 11, 2020, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment in case No. 2020-26-0106, holding that Article 9 of the Law ‘On the Compliance of Articles 8 and 9 of the Law ‘…, insofar it imposed an obligation to suspend licenses for the provision of online gaming services, is incompatible with the principle of legitimate expectations inherent in Article 1 of the Constitution, in conjunction with the right to property enshrined in Article 105 of the Constitution.”

According to the firm, “as ruled by the Constitutional Court, a person’s right to freedom of self-determination shall have the highest value in a democratic state governed by the rule of law…even during a nation-wide state of emergency the legislator shall not adopt unreasonably vague provisions that restrict the rights of such persons that are not even the subject of the legislator’s-imposed restrictions’ legitimate aim.”

Cobalt’s team included Managing Partner Lauris Liepa and Associate Toms Krumins.

Cobalt at a Glance

COBALT is a closely integrated alliance of top-tier law offices across the Baltics, uniting more than 250 attorneys and support staff. During 25 years of experience, we have become a strategic partner to our clients in handling both daily matters and complex large–scale transactions and disputes.

The firm’s broad spectrum of expertise and established position as the market leader gives a comprehensive basis for providing full-service business law advice.

Top international and regional businesses, financial institutions, state and local governments, and the region’s most promising start-ups are among our clients. We offer leading-edge solutions in key industry sectors: Consumer Products, Trade & Distribution, Real Estate & Construction, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare, Energy & Utilities, Communications, Media & Technologies, Financial Services, Transport & Logistics.

COBALT has been named Baltic Law Firm of the Year 7 times receiving Chambers Europe, IFLR, The Lawyer and Mergermarket awards, and we are regularly listed amongst the top-performing M&A legal advisors in the Bloomberg, Refinitiv and Mergermarket deal tables. Recognized as the No.1 Lithuanian law firm in the Prospera Law Firm Review 2021 and No. 1 law firm in Latvia in 2022, 2020, 2019, and 2018 client satisfaction surveys. We were recognized as a Baltic-wide Law Firm of the Year at the 2022 Chambers Europe Awards ceremony and named the Baltic States Tax Firm of the Year and Pro Bono Firm of the Year at the annual ITR EMEA Tax Awards 2021 ceremony. 

More information on COBALT can be found at www.cobalt.legal.