IMPORTANT NOTICE
- The “Merit” brand is globally registered under our group company, Merit Turizm Inc. & NET Holding Inc.
- Our group companies operate Merit Hotels and Merit Casinos in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Montenegro, and Bulgaria.
- Our companies do not operate any online casinos or betting websites.
- Since 2016, illegal gambling networks have been deliberately using our “Merit” brand without authorization, operating domain names such as meritroyalbet and meritking to deceive and defraud individuals. Legal actions against these entities continue in multiple countries.
- Our UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) case filed to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) concluded in our favor on September 5, 2017, resulting in the transfer of the “Meritroyal.bet” domain to Net Holding.
- Similarly, our UDRP case regarding the intellectual property infringement committed through the “meritking.news” domain was resolved in our favor on August 5, 2025, and the “meritking.news” domain was officially transferred to our company.
- Unauthorized websites such as meritking.net and later meritking.news appeared, disguising themselves as a “sports news portal” while in fact engaging in illegal betting-related activities and announcing sponsorships.
- On 31 August 2024, “meritking.news” advertisements appeared on LED boards during the Adanademirspor – Galatasaray match, followed by a sponsorship placement on Galatasaray’s jerseys. The agreement was suspended on 17 September 2024 amid public concern. Subsequently, sponsorship announcements involving various European football and basketball clubs were publicized.
- On 23 September 2024, an expert report submitted to the 4th Istanbul Civil Court of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights confirmed that meritking.news was redirecting users to the illegal betting site “Meritking.” The Court issued an injunction and restricted access to that domain from Turkey. Following these developments, a UDRP proceeding was initiated before WIPO, resulting in the transfer of the domain name to Net Holding.
"The Merit brand, which has attained a respected position both nationally and internationally through the years of dedication and investment by Net Group employees, will under no circumstances be allowed to be tarnished or harmed by illegal gambling websites. We remain firmly committed to protecting the Merit brand against any fraudulent, misleading, or unlawful use across all national and international platforms."
Respectfully,
Net Holding Inc.
Net Holding Wins UDRP Case Against “Meritking.news”
Net Holding A.Ş. has successfully concluded a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceeding before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) concerning the domain name “meritking.news.” As a result of this ruling, ownership of the domain has been transferred to Net Holding.
For more than 50 years, Net Holding has operated in tourism and gaming, with the “Merit” brand established as a trusted and prestigious name in both Northern Cyprus and across Europe. Recently, we observed that our brand was being misused without authorization by illegal betting/casino operators. One such entity created a deceptive platform under the name “Merit King”, operating via the domain meritking.news, in an attempt to exploit our brand, mislead the public, and legitimize unlawful betting activities.
This WIPO decision marks a significant step in protecting both the reputation of the Merit brand and our legal rights. It also sets an important precedent in the international fight against illegal betting platforms.
Unlawful Sponsorships Cannot Legitimize “Meritking.news”
The entity operating under the name “Meritking.news” has intentionally misrepresented itself as a legitimate sports news portal with the aim of deceiving the public and promoting unlawful online betting activities. Over the past year, this entity has announced sponsorship agreements with several European football clubs under UEFA, national teams, and Euroleague basketball teams.
We emphasize that such sponsorships are unlawful. Both the clubs involved and the entities selling advertising space bear responsibility for facilitating these activities. Unless these sponsorships are publicly cancelled and declared void, Net Holding will initiate legal proceedings against the relevant clubs, advertising intermediaries, and competent authorities.
Sports Clubs’ Responses to Meritking Sponsorship
We are in the process of exchanging correspondence with sports clubs. So far, we have received responses from Italian clubs.
Parma Calcio has suspended the performance of the sponsorship agreement at least until 17 October and requested explanations from Onlinegaming.
Torino FC has responded that they are gathering further information and will get back to us. In the meantime, they have removed the statement regarding their cooperation with meritking.news https://www.torinofc.it/news/05/09/2024/benvenuto-meritking-news_29527 and deleted them from the list of partners https://www.torinofc.it/partner
Important Notice: The screenshot below has been obtained from the publicly accessible WIPO UDRP decisions database. You can officially download the relevant UDRP decisions via the following link: UDRP Decisions Database
