The Complainant is a lottery company, a provider of game of chance and betting services operating in Finland. The company was founded in 1940 for sports betting in Finland and holds a monopoly position that is based on law. The games of Veikkaus enjoy goodwill.<\/p>\n
About 40 percent of adult Finns play Veikkaus games and use their betting services weekly. More than 80 percent of adult Finns have reported playing Veikkaus at least once. Given the monopoly status of Veikkaus in Finland, any reference to the term “Veikkaus” on a website such as that linked to the domain suomiveikkaus.com refers to the Complainant. The contested domain name is linked to the website as SuomiVeikkaus.<\/p>\n
The contested domain name <suomiveikkaus.com> and the website are likely to be confused with Veikkaus' brands. The website uses Veikkaus trademarks and refers Veikkaus games, such as Lotto, Keno, Vakioveikkaus and Eurojackpot, which can only be provided by Veikkaus in Finland. Using these brands in connection with other illegal lottery and gambling service providers as if they were connected or could legally co-exist is against Finnish laws. There are also several links to illegal gambling sites, such as Netbet, Mr. Green and Betiton and the correct commercial origin of the website is not evident for the consumers.<\/p>\n
The Finnish game of chance system is very restrictive when it comes to betting. The system was reformed in 2017, and the previous three operators Fintoto, RAY and Veikkaus merged into a single gambling, betting, and game of chance company Veikkaus Oy which is the Complainant and is owned by the Finnish State. The Finnish system is based on the exclusive right principle, with the purpose of operating games responsibly and mitigating the possible risks involved in gambling and games of chance. The system secures the legal protection of those engaging in games of chance and prevents gambling-related fraud. In addition, the law stipulates rules on how to decide about distribution of the profits that are gained. The profit has to be used for the benefit of the society. The Complainant, Veikkaus, is the only company that is entitled to legally offer gambling, betting and lottery in Finland and it is under strict monitoring and control.<\/strong><\/p>\n It has recently come to the Complainant’s attention that the Respondent has registered the contested domain name <suomiveikkaus.com> on 9 March 2021. “Suomiveikkaus” translates to “Finlandbetting” or “Finnishbetting” in English. The contested domain name <suomiveikkaus.com> relates to one of the main businesses of the Complainant Veikkaus, namely betting services. The contested domain name <suomiveikkaus.com> leads to a page, where all the information is either related to Complainant’s services, namely, betting or games of chance, or to third party gambling services, which are all provided in violation of Finnish game of chance legislation.<\/p>\n The page suomiveikkaus.com is Finnish and in Finnish language and it is therefore aimed only at the Finnish consumers. Also, the target group of the advertised casinos are Finnish consumers. The Respondent receives income and benefits commercially from the contested domain name which is used as a part of an affiliate marketing scheme. The affiliate marketing is a source of income. When people follow the links from suomiveikkaus.com to illegal gambling websites, the owner of the webpage receives compensation for the marketing of the online casino. These online casinos cannot be provided to Finnish consumers in Finland as they are not operated by the Complainant.<\/p>",
"other_legal_proceedings": " The Panel is not aware of any other legal proceedings which are pending or decided and which relate to the disputed domain name.<\/p>",
"no_response_filed": " The Complainant contends that it is a game of chance and betting service provider operating in Finland under the name \"Veikkaus\" since 1940 for sports betting in Finland and argues that the contested domain name which translates to “suomiveikkaus” is “Finlandbetting” or “Finnishbetting” in English is confusingly similar to the registered trademarks, the company names and the registered domain names of the Complainant. <\/p>\n The Complainant contends it has no relationship to the Respondent, and that the disputed domain name does not correspond to the name of the Respondent and is not used for legitimate purposes. On the contrary, the use made is argued to be illegal. The <\/span>Complainant’s trademark “VEIKKAUS” is argued to be distinctive and well known in Finland where the mark is said to enjoy good will. The fact that the Respondent has registered a domain name that is confusingly similar to it indicates that the Respondent had knowledge of the Complainant’s trademark at the time of registration of the disputed domain name. The current use of the disputed domain name causes great damages to the Complainant, due to the misleading of its present clients and to the loss of potential new ones.<\/span><\/p>\n No administratively compliant Response has been filed.<\/p>",
"rights": " The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy).<\/p>",
"no_rights_or_legitimate_interests": " The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the Respondent to have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy).<\/p>",
"bad_faith": " The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy).<\/p>",
"procedural_factors": " The Panel is satisfied that all procedural requirements under UDRP were met and there is no other reason why it would be inappropriate to provide a decision.<\/p>",
"decision": "Accepted",
"panelists": [
"Udo Pfleghar B.A. (Melb.)"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2023-02-01 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the registered owner of, <\/span>among other trademarks, national Finnish word mark registration no. 248158 VEIKKAUS filed on 27\/09\/2005 and registered on 15\/02\/2010, as well as national Finnish word mark registrations no. 266351 VEIKKAUS, filed on 24\/08\/2015 and registered on 08\/04\/2016 and word and device mark no. 267852 VEIKKAUS filed on 16\/06\/2016 and registered on 31\/10\/2016. In addition to these three VEIKKAUS trademarks, the Complainant is the proprietor of several other prior wordmark and device trademark registrations including the name Veikkaus. The Complainant is also the registrant of numerous gTLD and ccTLD domain names including the name VEIKKAUS, including but not limited to domains such as Veikkaus.fi, Veikkaus.com, Veikkaus.eu, Veikkaus.games, Veikkausgames.com, liigaveikkaus.fi and vakioveikkaus.fi.<\/span><\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"suomiveikkaus.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}