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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that online gamblers can seek compensation if they lost money when gambling was illegal in their home country, even if the laws have since changed. This could pave the way for others to reclaim losses.
The fact Germany's laws have since changed, meaning such gambling is now permitted, has no bearing on the case, the ECJ ruled.
This matter came about as a result of a German resident seeking seeking compensation in domestic courts for losses incurred on online slot machines and lottery prediction betting between June 2019 and July 2021, when such gambling was not legal in Germany.
While it may be difficult to go after operators licensed in offshore locales such as Costa Rica or Curacao, a number of these gambling sites are licensed in the EU nation of Malta. The island nation is one of the world's leading online gambling hubs.
In addition to Germany, those impacted gamblers in the Netherlands, as well as Austria, could potentially be covered under the April 16 ruling.
In the Netherlands, gamblers who lost money on sites before October 1, 2021 could have a case to be compensated for losses as there had been no local licensing regime prior to that time. Offshore operators (mostly Malta-licensed) still accepted Dutch players.
The CJEU made clear that the applicable law is generally the law of the player’s habitual residence, not the operator’s location, server location, or bank location.
The new Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling doesn’t automatically entitle all players to refunds—it just strengthens claims in specific situations.
- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com
