Poker sites ordered to pay back player losses (400k) in the Netherlands

https://www.telegraaf.nl/financieel/1086...

"Two digital poker platforms have agreed to reimburse players more than €400,000 in losses due to the absence of proper gaming licenses."

TL;DR:

Bwin and PokerStars each have to repay 2 players their losses for 2006-2021, each ~200k€.

Basically this ruling if it will stand in higher courts (pretty sure sites will go the lengthy legal way) will allow everyone Dutch player to get their money back (?) pretty wyld

GPT translate:

Here's the translated text of the article:

**Court Ruling Sets Precedent for Hundreds More Cases**
Online casinos must repay gamblers substantial sums: 'They thought they were untouchable'

**MASCHA DE JONG**
April 17, 2024, FINANCIAL

ZWOLLE - The Overijssel District Court has ordered two international gambling companies to compensate the losses of two Dutch gamblers. They lost several hundred thousand euros while the gambling companies illegally offered games and bets online. This ruling sets a precedent for hundreds of other cases yet to be heard in Dutch courts.

Two online casinos (Bwin and Pokerstars) must repay two gamblers the money they lost.

Gambling provider Bwin was easily accessible to a Dutch gambler from Staphorst during 2018/2019. At the time, the company did not have a license to offer gambling games in the Dutch market, but it did so anyway. The man from Staphorst lost a total of 187,000 euros online. Another man from Almelo gambled away 217,000 euros between 2006 and 2021 at the equally illegal Pokerstars, playing poker and casino games as well as placing sports bets. Both companies have been ordered by the court to repay these substantial amounts.

**Foreign Gambling Sites**
The Dutch government only began issuing licenses for the online gambling market from April 1, 2021. However, the online gambling market was already thriving before then. As early as 2012, the Supreme Court ruled on international gambling companies that illegally offered their products through foreign gambling sites. This did nothing to change the situation. These gambling companies remained easily accessible to Dutch IP addresses.

Lawyer Benzi Loonstein, who represents dozens of victims: "It was a bit like the drug market. It is massive, and among the providers, there often prevails the thought 'we are untouchable.' It is now the first time that actual losses must be reimbursed by the gambling providers."

**Duty of Care Ignored**
The lawyer expects many more lawsuits to follow. "We have been intensively involved in this for a year and a half now. The gambling companies have clearly neglected their duty of care. They are accessible 24/7 to people, while they do not see the damage being done. I represent clients who have gambled away the inheritance from their deceased parents in just a few days, or whose savings account meant for their old age has disappeared. Such stories are very poignant. These are situations that the gambling companies completely ignore."

However, these tragic stories were not decisive for the court. The ruling was kept strictly factual: there was no license for the Dutch market, and thus the agreement with each customer was declared null and void. Loonstein: "And with that, they must compensate what they have taken from those who were enticed to play these online gambling games."