Czech casino King’s Resort gains initial legal win over Facebook

King’s Resort has won the first battle in a legal claim against Facebook for use of the casino operator’s branding on an ad for online gambling.

Czech Republic.- The land-based casino operator King’s Resort has won the first round of a legal fight against Facebook for misuse of its branding. 

It launched a lawsuit against the social media network claiming that it allowed King’s Resort branding to be used illegally on an online gaming advertisement from an unrelated operator.

King’s Resort initially complained to Facebook but said that no action was taken. As a result, the casino operator’s owner Leon Tsoukernik filed a lawsuit in April demanding CZK 500,000,000 (€19.6m) in damages.

Lawsuits against Facebook are usually taken against the company’s headquarters in Ireland, but in a win for King’s Resort, a court in Prague has ruled that Czech courts have jurisdiction to deal with the case.

King Resort’s also noted that the false advertisement shown on Facebook did not include the mandatory reference to gambling addiction prevention, which is a requirement for all Czech casinos.

All land-based casinos in the Czech Republic were able to reopen in June following a relaxation of Covid-19 countermeasures. In the same month, the city of Jirkov announced a ban on gambling following the lead set by Prague, which passed a ban on slot machines last year.

See also: Czech government scores legal win over Casino Kartáč Group