Rotterdam court orders Betsson to repay customer €530,000
The customer, referred to only as “Eric” in court documents, filed action against BML Group Limited and Corona Limited. This related to money he lost while gambling on sites operated by the two companies.
The case dates back to 2014 when the customer made their first deposit. Online gambling was not legal in the Netherlands at the time, however the player said they were able to gamble with several online casinos operated by BML and Corona. These include Betsson, Kroon Casino and Oranje Casino.
In total, the player said they deposited €385,378 by gambling with the unlicensed websites. The case challenged whether these monies should be refunded as they were not gambled and lost legally.
Gambling agreement with Betsson ‘null and void’
Rotterdam District Court heard the case last week. As Betsson did not attend, the court said the default judgment was to rule in favour of the player.
The primary ruling saw the court declare the gambling agreement between the player and the online casino operators null and void. This was due to the sites not being permitted to operate legally in the Netherlands. As such, Betsson was ordered to repay the €385,378 deposited with the sites.
On top of this, the court said Betsson is liable for interest from the date of the first deposit in 2014. Dynamiet Nederland, which represented the customer, said this interest amounted to €144,622.
As such, the total amount due to the player is almost €530,000, with an additional €5,751 due in legal costs.
“This ruling confirms that affected gamblers can not only reclaim their losses but are also entitled to interest on interest,” Dynamiet Nederland founder Deepak Thakoerdien said, according to Casino Nieuws. “Built up annually, this interest compensation can therefore increase considerably, as is now evident.”
In response to a request for comment from iGB, Betsson said it is reviewing the court’s decision and assessing the next steps internally.
Another legal loss for Betsson
This is the second ruling against Betsson so far this year over unlicensed activities in the Netherlands.
A court in Noord-Nederland ruled Betsson had offered online gambling in the Netherlands without a licence. As such, it was ordered to repay €119,634, plus statutory interest.
Betsson still does not have a licence in the Netherlands. It did file an application but chose to withdraw this in July 2023 due to “significant delays” with the process.
However, Betsson may soon have a presence in the Dutch regulated market. It agreed to acquire licensed Dutch online casino Goldrun in February 2024, although this is yet to be approved by regulator Kansspelautoriteit.