Betfair Online Casinos Found Not Liable for Forum Comments
Online gambling sites may have achieved a measure of protection from accusations of libel after the online casino operator Betfair was found not responsible for defamatory comments made in one of its forums. While standard European Union law exempts Internet sites from responsibility for members' posts, a clause in the EU statute withdraws the protection in regards to gaming activities.Still, an Irish High Court ruled that Ellen Martin and Seamus Mulvaney could not collect damages from Betfair despite derogatory comments posted about them on Betfair's website. The decision was hailed as a landmark one, giving gaming operators the same protection in regards to their public posting areas other Internet intermediaries receive.
The judge found that the 2001 European E-Commerce Directive successfully prevented Betfair from being liable in the case. The gambling exception, the judge said, was irrelevant as the forums were not related to Betfair's core gaming business.
"That’s really what the judgment’s saying, that gambling companies that operate a chatroom are now considered to be protected by the EU directive," said Feidhlimidh Wrafter, an attorney representing Betfair.
The judge said that, in the case before him, Betfair had acted as a host, storing information provided by third parties, and could not be sued for the content uploaded by those parties.Online gambling operators found the decision to be a relief, freeing them from worry that they might have unusual responsibility to control public comments.
