The Complainant is a Finnish company engaged in the provision of gambling, betting, games of chance and related services in Finland. It has been so engaged for many years and, by Finnish statute law, it has a monopoly on the provision of those services in Finland.
The Complainant has an extensive range of trademarks and domain names that embody its name, VEIKKAUS. The specific trademark that it relies on in this proceeding is its Finnish trademark VEIKKAUS, registration no. 248158 which was registered on 15 February 2010.
The Respondent is the registrant of the disputed domain name <veikkauskertoimet.com> which was registered on 27 January 2018 and thus subsequently to the registration of the Complainant’s trademark. That part of the domain name consisting of the word “kertoime” is the Finnish of the English word “odds”.
It has come to the notice of the Complainant that the Respondent has registered the disputed domain name and used it to create a website which the Complainant maintains offers services that are in some cases identical to those of the Complainant, in some cases different from the Complainant’s offerings and in some cases illegal in Finland. It has therefore brought this proceeding in which it seeks a transfer of the disputed domain name to itself. The Respondent has filed a Response in the proceeding.<\/p>\n
Contentions of the parties.<\/strong><\/span> B. Whether the Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name (Policy, Paragraph 4(a)(ii)) 12. As submitted above, Veikkauskertoimet.com is a website that compares the services offered by different service providers to customer advantage by providing information about the legal betting services in Europe. 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": null,
"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": [
"Neil Brown"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2023-02-01 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the registered owner of Finnish trademark VEIKKAUS, registered in the Finnish Patent and Registration Office registration no. 248158.The trademark was applied for on 27 September 2005, registered on 15 February 2010 and valid until 15 February 2030. <\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"veikkauskertoimet.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}
Complainant<\/strong>
1. The Complainant is a Finnish company that operates a lottery, game of chance and other betting services in Finland. It is a government monopoly by virtue of Finnish statute law and distributes its profits for the public good. It is regulated and closely monitored by the Finnish state. It is in fact owned by the Finnish State.
2. It is widely patronised by the Finnish population.
3. The Complainant is the owner of the Finnish VEIKKAUS trademark, registration no. 248158 from 2005 which predates the registration of the disputed domain name <veikkauskertoimet.com> which was in 2018.
4. The Complainant also owns other prior trademarks for VEIKKAUS and a series of domain names using the name VEIKKAUS, such as <veikkaus.games>.
5. As it is a very well-known entity, any reference to the word Veikkau on the internet is understood in Finland to refer to the Complainant. This has come about because it was created in 2017 as an amalgam of three former operators, Fintoto (operating toto horse racing games), RAY (operating casinos) and Veikkaus itself (operating betting and lottery services) that were merged into a single company providing gambling, betting, and game of chance services, hence the name Veikkaus Oy. The word “oy”
means “Limited” in the English language.
6. On 27 January 2018, the Respondent registered the domain name <veikkauskertoimet.com>.
7. The domain name consists of two words, “veikkaus” and “kertoimet”. Veikkiaus is the name of the Complainant and “kertoimet” means “odds” in the English language. Thus, the clear intention of the Respondent in constructing the disputed domain name was to invoke and use the name of the Complainant and one of its main businesses, betting services.
8. The disputed domain name resolves to a website which is used to market and promote third-party betting games and, because the Complainant’s name and VEIKKAUS trademark are included in the domain name, it uses the goodwill and reputation of the Complainant to achieve that objective.
9. Accordingly, by using the Complainant’s name and trademark, the Respondent is using the domain name so that it will cause confusion with the Complainant and its brands and it is thus misleading consumers.
10. The information displayed on the Respondent’s website is related to Complainant’s own services, namely, betting or games of chance and third party gambling services including online casinos, which are being provided in violation of the Finnish legislation.
11. The Respondent's website provides links to Finnish gambling sites that are in breach of Finnish law. There are also several commercial links to gambling, games of chance, and betting services that are not provided by the Complainant.
12. The information conveyed by the Respondent is in the Finnish language and is therefore aimed at Finnish users.
13. The disputed domain name is identical and \/or confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trademark. That is so because it includes the name and trademark of the Complainant and internet users would assume therefore that it was referring to the Complainant and, because of the addition of the word “kertoimet”, meaning “odds” in English, that it dealt with activities of the Complainant relating to betting, gambling and gaming. The Respondent is neither affiliated with the Complainant nor authorized by it to use the trademark VEIKKAUS.
14. The Respondent does not have a right or legitimate interest in the dispute domain name. That is so because in addition to providing information about betting services in Finland, there are several commercial links on its resolving website to gambling, games of chance, and betting services that are not provided by the Complainant, leading to confusion.
15. The domain name is also used to provide rival gambling information to that of the Complainant and also to attract business to competitors because Finnish users will assume that these offerings must be legal and coming from the Complainant because that is the only way they could be offered in Finland.
16. The Respondent’s website is in Finnish and emanates from Estonia. This will induce Finnish users in Finland to think that it comes from the Complainant.
17. The Respondent has registered and used the disputed domain name in bad faith. That is so because it has been registered and used to attract internet users to the Respondent’s website by creating a likelihood of confusion with the registered and well-known VEIKKAUS trademark and the betting services of the Complainant.
18. The Respondent had actual knowledge of the Complainant, its name, business and trademark when it registered the disputed domain name and consequently when it used the domain name.
19. The Respondent’s website contains several links to gambling sites that are illegal in Finland such as Tonybet, Mobilebet and Galaksino, which all claim to be Finnish and tax free. As such, the Respondent will derive income and benefit commercially from the disputed domain name as it is used as a part of affiliate marketing scheme which is a source of income.
20. The online casinos promoted by the Respondent are illegal in Finland and could not be operated from there.
21. In addition to providing information about betting services in Finland, there are several commercial links to gambling, games of chance, and betting services that are not provided by Veikkaus.
22. The Article 11 of the Finnish Lottery Act (23.11.2001 \/ 1047) stipulates that Veikkaus has the exclusive right to conduct lottery, betting and games of chance in Finland. According to Article 12 of the same Act, \"The company's task is to engage in gambling activities in such a way as to guarantee the legal security of participants in gambling, to prevent abuses and crimes and to prevent and reduce economic, social and health harm caused by gambling.\" The Complainant is a state-owned company with many responsibilities related to gambling operations.
23. The disputed domain name should be transferred to the Complainant.<\/p>\n
Respondent<\/strong>
1. The Respondent requests the Panel to deny the remedies requested by the Complainant and to order that the disputed domain name remain with the Respondent.
2. The Complainant must prove each of the three criteria set out in Paragraph. 4(a)(i), (ii), (iii).
A. Whether the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the Complainant has rights; (Policy, Paragraph 4(a)(i))
3. According to the complainant, the disputed domain name <veikkauskertoimet.com> comprises Complainant’s trademark, namely the word ”veikkaus” and the word “kertoimet”, which translates to “odds”.
4. As said by the Complainant, there are several commercial links (on the Respondent’s website) to various gambling, games of chance, and betting services that are not provided by the questionable Finnish monopoly.
5. The domain name cannot be considered identical or confusingly similar to a no distinctive enough trademark in which Complainant has rights. “Odds” does not have any distinctive character. Also, the word ”veikkaus” does not have any distinctive character. It is a generic term that is directly linked to betting services (Kielitoimiston sanakirja: veikkaus =1. guessing; guess2. gambling games in which participants try to predict the results of certain football matches, e.g. trotting competitions. Standard bet).
6. Internet users of www.veikkauskertoimet.com are not likely to assume that the disputed domain name <veikkauskertoimet.com> belongs to the Complainant.
7. Veikkaus is only one of many betting service providers in Europe and it is easy to see, that www.veikkauskertoimet.com is website that compares to customer's advantage the services offered by different service providers by giving information about many of the betting services in Europe. As said by the Complainant, there are several commercial links to various gambling, games of chance, and betting services that are not provided by questionable Finnish monopoly. All this information is likely to lead consumers to make better and more sustainable choices. Consumers all over Europe search services that are not connected to state owned monopoly services.
8. Within Europe, regulatory practices differ, which means that not all operators are subject to the same standard of regulation. Today online betting is available in the whole Europe and there are Finnish (sic) customers all over the continent. Service providers offer their services in European languages. The old school monopoly business in some European countries are soon history. Even in Finland that kind of unfair and unproductive monopoly is coming most likely to an end. There has long been opposition to the Finnish monopoly system. Many industry groups have made calls for the monopoly to end, while in 2023 a legislative committee said the current system is “practically broken” and other methods should be considered, if Veikkaus’ monopoly can no longer be implemented.
9. Using generic terms like “veikkaus” and “odds” should be free to all betting service providers and other businesses based in Europe. According to our opinion the trademark “veikkaus” is not distinctive enough for services related to betting. <\/p>\n
10. Respondent registered the domain veikkauskertoimet.com on 27.1.2018.
11. It has also used their trademark to their services on those international websites since 2018. <\/p>\n
13. The Respondent claims to have rights and legitimate interests in respect of the domain name. Veikkauskertoimet.com’s business does not compete with Veikkaus or other betting companies. They do not use the trademark in connection with betting services. They have used their domain and trademark 5 years for their own services, which differ clearly from betting services.
14. While betting services in Finland are strictly regulated and may only be provided by Veikkaus, the services which compare the services offered by different service providers to the customers’ advantage are completely legal in Europe including in Finland.
15. However, the company that is holder of the domain name veikkauskertoimet.com is based in Estonia. Unhealthy monopoly-companies do not realize that in a year 2023 there are many service providers that offer their services online and the geographically static mindset related to conducting business is history.
16. It is easy to understand that Veikkaus has not even heard about the domain name <veikkauskertoimet.com> until recently. That is because the service is located to another country and branch of business differ. It is somewhat strange that there are still people who think that they can stop other from using generic terms in their business.
17. Abovementioned fact is also a proof that Veikkauskertoimet.com domain and the website have not caused likelihood of confusion with Veikkaus brands, and the domains. During the last five years, there have been no signs that any consumer was misled.
C. Whether the domain name[s] [has\/have] been registered and [is\/are] being used in bad faith (Policy, Paragraph 4(a)(iii))
18. The Complainant and the Respondent are not competitors and the domain name was not registered by the Respondent to disrupt the Complainant’s business in any way.
19. As said, there are no earlier identical or confusingly similar trademarks or domain names which cover same or even similar kind of business activities. The domain name veikkauskertoimet.com has been registered and used in good faith as an address and trademark for website that compares the services offered by different service providers to customer advantage by providing information about many the betting services in Europe. It is simply a very descriptive word that means \"betting odds\", and it is amazing that Veikkaus, a company located in another geographical area, is trying to hinder the operation of veikkauskertoimet.com as if it were the last act of a dying dinosaur to prevent others.
20. The Complaint should therefore be dismissed.<\/p>",
"other_legal_proceedings": "