Ladbrokes has lost a long-running legal battle with the Dutch gaming authorities for the right to take bets from Dutch online gamblers.
A verdict in the European Court of Justice marks the end of a seven-year case that began when a Dutch court imposed an injunction preventing Ladbrokes accepting bets from Dutch citizens on its Ladbrokes.com website.
The injunction had been granted to De Lotto, which runs the Dutch lottery, which argued that Ladbrokes had no licence for gaming in the Netherlands.
A Ladbrokes appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court was passed to the European Court of Justice, which acknowledged that Dutch gaming legislation is technically a restriction on EU rules guaranteeing freedom of movement and freedom to provide services.
