Unibet CEO detained under European arrest warrant issued by French authorities

Unibet CEO detained under European arrest warrant issued by French authorities

Warrant issued in relation with French monopoly protection legislation of 1836

Petter Nylander, CEO of online gaming company Unibet, was yesterday detained by
Dutch authorities after checking in to a flight to get back to his home in the
UK. The background for this detention is the proceedings filed in 2006 by the
French lottery monopoly Française des Jeux and horse betting monopoly PMU
against Unibet, alleging breach of the French national laws from 1836 and 1891
protecting those State-owned monopolies.
Unibet is outraged by France's total disregard of European Community law aiming
to protect a domestic commercial gambling monopoly, which is being challenged by
the European Commission. However disturbing French authorities' methods are, for
Unibet it is business as usual.

While the company was aware of the possibility of this action by the French
authorities, the timing of it is very surprising. In March 2007, the European
Court of Justice ruled in the Placanica case, confirming that betting services
are covered by the EU Treaty. The Court also confirmed that criminal proceedings
brought against legitimate operators based in other EU member states are in
contradiction with the EU Treaty. On 27 June, the EU Commission issued a
reasoned opinion against France, in relation with the infringement proceedings
concerning France's restrictions on sports betting. Furthermore, on 10 July, the
highest jurisdiction in France (Cour de cassation) has overturned a decision
that banned a Maltese company from offering online betting on horse races in
France. Finally, the French government has stated its will to open a discussion
with the European Commission towards a regulated opening of the French online
gaming market. 

Unibet's CFO and Deputy CEO Ragnar Hellenius has been appointed by the Board of
Unibet as acting CEO until Mr. Nylander is released. He comments: 
“This situation is clearly unacceptable and extraordinary in ours and in any
industry. It is our view that this use of the possibility for cross-border legal
actions is a clear abuse of their true aim, and in all aspects,
disproportionate. 
Unibet is licensed in the UK, Malta and Italy for gambling, listed on the OMX
Nordic Stock Exchange and a company complying with European law. 
This is clearly a breach of the EU Treaty and the fundamental principles of the
European Union.
We are upset of this unlawful act and harassment against our company and a
citizen of Europe and we will take every action possible to bring this matter to
justice. This criminalisation of a specific individual is a tactic that we have
seen French authorities using before and something we will not tolerate. We take
for granted that Petter Nylander will be released immediately.”  



For more information:
Inga Lundberg, Investor Relations	+44 788 799 6116
Ragnar Hellenius, Deputy CEO	+44 784 167 3517

About Unibet
Unibet was founded in 1997 and is an online gambling company listed on OMX
Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. Unibet is one of the largest privately-owned
gambling operators in the European market and provides services in 20 languages
through www.unibet.com. Today, Unibet has more than 1.8 million customers in
over 100 countries. Unibet is a member of the EGBA, European Gaming and Betting
Association, RGA, Remote Gambling Association in the UK and is certified by G4,
Global Gaming Guidance Group.

More information about Unibet Group plc can be found on www.unibetgroupplc.com