Dutch Supreme Court Rejects Automatic Refunds for Old Gambling Losses
The Dutch Supreme Court has ruled that players are not automatically entitled to recover losses from unlicensed online gambling operators active before the market was regulated.
The decision covers gambling agreements made before the Netherlands launched its regulated online market on 1 October 2021.
The case involved two players who used Malta-licensed gambling websites. One lost around €119,000 on PokerStars between 2006 and 2021. Another lost €135,137 on PartyCasino between August 2020 and July 2021.
Both players argued that their gambling agreements should be treated as invalid because the operators did not hold Dutch licences. They hoped this would allow them to recover their losses.
However, the Supreme Court found that the Dutch Games of Chance Act did not automatically make these agreements invalid under civil law. It also rejected the argument that the launch of regulation in 2021 was intended to cancel older contracts. An Entain spokesperson welcomed the ruling:
The decision confirms that gambling agreements made before 1 October 2021 remain valid and that historic losses cannot be recovered simply because the contracts are considered void.
The ruling may affect many similar claims against operators that served Dutch players before regulation.
Courts in Germany and Austria are also dealing with cases involving losses at unlicensed gambling websites. The European Court of Justice has generally left such disputes to national courts and local gambling laws.
Legal experts say uncertainty remains because different European countries may reach different conclusions under their own rules.
