We need to clarify some basic information at the beginning of this article. Online gambling was illegal in the Netherlands until October 2021. Already in 2012, the Supreme Court ruled international online gambling sites illegal. However, many online gambling sites did not worry about the ruling, they operated in standard mode and players were allowed to use their services.
Lose money? Sue an online gambling site
Two Dutch players, one from Staphorst and the other from Almelo, decided to take a decisive step. They hired an Amsterdam lawyer named Benzi Loonstein and filed a lawsuit against Pokerstars and Bwin. They demanded the return of the money they lost from both online poker sites because they were offering their services without a license in the Netherlands. Does this sound absurd to you?
A landmark court ruling
Yesterday, a court ruling in this case saw the light of day and may cause many wrinkles for many online gambling sites. The judge of the Overijssel District Court ruled that both Pokerstars and Bwin must pay players their money lost, plus interest, court costs and lawyer's fees.
A player from Staphorst lost €187,000 on Bwin between 2018 and 2020, and a resident of Almela lost €217,000 on Pokerstars between 2006 and 2021. Neither of the named companies was licensed to operate in the Dutch market during this period.
In addition to the money lost, Pokerstars must also pay the player €2,838.24 in out-of-court settlement costs plus €8,012.14 in various court and legal fees. Pokerstars must pay all of this within 14 days of the verdict.
Bwin finally agreed with the player to pay the amount of €187,621.96. However, Bwin must also pay a small statutory interest, which is calculated from August 4, 2023, and of course it must also pay various court fees. Bwin has also been given 14 days to pay.
Arguments of the gaming companies and the court
Pokerstars, in its defence, argued that the losses suffered by the player were caused by other online poker players and not by the poker room. At the same time, the poker room argued in court that a ruling in favour of the affected player would mean that he could gamble without any risk. In fact, he could have freerolled for years.
The judge's reason for rejecting this defence was that the injured player had deposited money into an account operated by Pokerstars and the losses he suffered were paid out to other players from that account. This of course included the fees earned by Pokerstars itself in the whole process.
In its defence, Bwin argued that ongoing changes to Dutch online gaming legislation had rendered some parts of these regulations inapplicable at various times, and this allowed the poker room to operate legally in the Dutch market without having a licence.
However, all defending arguments were immediately rejected by the court and a clear breakthrough verdict was announced. Both online gambling sites did not have a legal license to operate in the Netherlands at the time and thus any contract concluded between the online gambling site and the player is null and void, and defacto never existed in the first place. And since it never existed, because the gambling rooms were operating without a licence, the player could not play there and could not spend money there, and therefore the gambling room has to refund everything to the player.
This is not the first offence of the gambling houses
Both online gambling sites have had problems with Dutch gaming regulators in the past. In 2019, Pokerstars was fined €400,000 and Bwin was fined €350,000 for operating an online poker room without the necessary license in the country.
A statement from legal counsel
The players' lawyer, Benzi Loonstein, commented on the court's landmark verdict as follows, "This is the first time a judge has ordered online casinos to refund players' bets. The conduct of online casinos often leads to great personal suffering for players. This affects many hundreds of thousands of people in the Netherlands. With the rulings made, the court has shown that the behaviour of the online casinos was unacceptable and that the damages (losses) must now be paid."
Lawyer Benzi Loonstein represents dozens of affected individuals, and expects the ruling to trigger a series of lawsuits against similar service providers. Loonstein also pointed to the negligence of these companies in fulfilling their duty of care to consumers. He also mentioned the 24/7 availability of online gaming sites and the lack of safeguards against potential harm. At the same time, he announced further lawsuits of a similar nature.
In conclusion, the judgments have been declared provisionally enforceable by the judge, and so the companies owning these online gaming sites must return the money to the players, despite the possibility of an appeal.
Source - casinonieuws.nl, casino.org, pokernews.com, gamblingindustrynews, com, vegasluck.com, uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl, luxurylifestylemag.co.uk, kids.nationalgeographic.com, cardplayer.com
