Betsson ordered to refund player’s losses – plus interest
The operator has been told to reimburse a player’s losses incurred from unlicensed gambling.
The Netherlands.- The question of whether players can reclaim losses from previously unlicensed gambling continues to be a headache for operators in Europe. After a no-show by Betsson, the Rotterdam District Court has found in favour of a player, ruling that the gambling operator must reimburse more than €500,000 for losses incurred gambling on its unlicensed website before the Netherlands regulated online gambling in 2021.
The case dates back to 2014, when the customer first made a deposit. At that time, online gambling was not legally permitted in the Netherlands. However, the player said they were able to access online casinos run by BML Group and Corona Limited, including Betsson, Kroon Casino, and Oranje Casino. Identified in court documents only as ‘Eric,’ the customer initiated legal action seeking the return of losses incurred while gambling on these platforms.
The customer said they deposited a total of €385,378 on the unlicensed sites. His case argued that the funds should be refunded because they were lost in an unlawful gambling environment. As Betsson failed to appear, the court issued a default judgment in favour of the player.
In its primary ruling, the court declared the agreement between the player and the online casino operators null and void, citing the illegality of the sites’ operations in the Netherlands. Consequently, Betsson was ordered to reimburse the €385,378 deposited.
However, the court also determined that Betsson was responsible for interest dating back to that initial deposit in 2014. According to Dynamiet Nederland, which represented the plaintiff, this amounts to €144,622. As a result, the player is entitled to nearly €530,000, with an additional €5,751 in legal costs.
“This ruling confirms that affected gamblers can not only reclaim their losses but are also entitled to interest on those funds,” said Dynamiet Nederland founder Deepak Thakoerdien, according to Casino Nieuws. “Accumulated annually, this compensation can significantly increase, as demonstrated in this case.”
Betsson is reviewing the court’s decision, which is the second ruling against it this year. A court in Noord-Nederland previously ordered the operator to repay €119,634 to a player.
Betsson still does not have a Dutch online gambling licence. It withdrew its application to the national gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) in July 2023, blaming delays in the approval process. In February of last year, it reached a deal to buy Holland Gaming Technology, which runs the Goldrun online casino brand in the Netherlands, but the KSA has yet to approve the acquisition.
