Not so long ago, we brought you an article about a landmark Dutch court ruling. Unlicensed, illegal online gambling sites must refund players their money lost.
At the time, the court based this decision on the fact that the contract concluded between the player and the gambling house upon registration was invalid, because if the gambling house was operating illegally in the country, no contract could even have been formed and thus never existed.
Austrian court decision
We didn't have to wait long and we have another groundbreaking decision, this time from the Austrian Supreme Court. This is because only Casino Austria can legally offer online gambling in Austria under its Win2day brand, and all other providers are thus illegal in the country.
Similar court rulings as we have seen in the Netherlands have also been brought by the German and Austrian courts, and these rulings are currently before the European Court of Justice for review. An unnamed Austrian player has thus decided to sue the illegally operating online gambling house Bet365 and demanded payment of her losses.
But the gambling company responded with a lawsuit of its own, demanding the player to pay out her winnings that she had won in 2020. In total, it was the sum of €7,162 that the player won on this platform. The gambling house appealed the same court ruling as the player. In its latest verdict, the court stated that the contracts are absolutely null and void, i.e. they are void for both parties, the casino and the player. If they were void only for the player, it would mean that the players can keep their winnings and can therefore participate in the illegal game without any risk.
Malta does not recognise Austrian courts
However, there is another catch to this whole issue. Most online gambling sites, including Bet 365, are based in Malta, and gambling providers are covered by the Maltese Parliament. However, Malta passed a law a year ago that prohibits Maltese authorities and courts from recognising Austrian court judgments. Malta wants to protect its own gambling industry with this law. However, experts say the law is contrary to EU law and the European Commission is currently examining whether the law is compatible with EU law at all.
The player does not have to pay back everything
Following a new landmark ruling by the Austrian Supreme Court, however, the defendant gambler may not yet have to return everything she won at an online gambling site. The court ruled in favour of the illegal online gambling site Bet365, and ordered the player to pay €626.60 to cover the gambling site's legal fees. The player was given 14 days to pay this amount.
What do you think? Will this judgment lead to players and gambling companies suing each other for money? Do you agree with this verdict of the court? Let us know in the comments on our social networks.
Source - derstandard.at, gamblingnews.com, igamingbusiness.com, vegasslotsonline.com, innovatechange.co.nz, wikipedia, abcnews.com, timesofmalta, bigwinboard.com
