Advertising illegal gambling: Capital Bra loses in Berlin court
The Berlin administrative court has rejected the rapper's urgent application against a coercive fine of 250,000 euros. The gambling authority accuses him of promoting illegal online gambling.
Symbolic image · Photo: Globetrotter19 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Berlin rapper Capital Bra has failed with an urgent application against a coercive fine of 250,000 euros at the Berlin Administrative Court, t-online reports, citing the German Press Agency. The joint gambling authority of the German states accuses the musician of promoting illegal online gambling on his social media channels.
According to the authority, the rapper responded neither to a hearing nor to a prohibition order, after which the fine was imposed. He is also alleged to have posted livestream footage showing himself taking part in unlicensed online gambling. His lawyer considers the authority's notices unlawful and cites EU law; according to Bild, he said his client is not currently advertising gambling.
The case was first lodged with the administrative court in Halle (Saale), which declared itself not competent and passed it to Berlin, where the rapper is registered. This is an administrative case, not criminal proceedings. As deadlines have passed, the fine is now due. Capital Bra can appeal to the next instance; no date has yet been set for the main proceedings.