Online Casinos: Consumers can claim back gambling losses

Created: 05/23/2022, 14:17

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

Even in online casinos, money is quickly lost.

© Britta Pedersen/dpa

Money is quickly lost in online casinos.

A lawyer is now advising those affected to go to court if they lost money at the online casino before July 1, 2021.

Mönchengladbach – Online gambling is a billion dollar market.

Only: The offer of online gambling in Germany is largely prohibited.

This means that the contracts between the player and the provider are void.

And that could now pay off in the truest sense of the word for people who have gambled away money via online casinos.

Online casinos widely banned in Germany

According to the State Treaty on Gambling, (online) gambling is only legal in Germany if the provider of such services is in possession of a German license.

According to the Center for European Consumer Protection e.

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As a result, you can claim back your lost money in illegal gambling.

However, since the online gambling providers do not pay out the money, injured consumers should go to court.

The Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court (decision of April 4, 2022, Az. 23 U 55/21) made it clear that an online casino has no claim to the players' money.

The reason: The offer of online gambling in Germany was extensively prohibited and the contracts were therefore void.

This confirms the first-instance judgment of the Gießen district court (Az.: 4 O 84/20) that the Maltese provider of online gaming has to pay back EUR 11,758.50 to the plaintiff.

Lawyer: “Aggrieved consumers should not miss this”

"Only since July 1, 2021 can casinos legally present their offer in Germany if they have a national license to do so.

This results in a clear legal situation.

Anyone who has lost money with an online gambling provider before this deadline can claim it back,” explains Mönchengladbach lawyer Gerrit W. Hartung, whose law firm deals exclusively with investor and consumer protection issues.

So far, the courts have regularly rejected corresponding claims by aggrieved consumers, arguing that it is illegal online gambling.

Therefore, there is no right of repayment.

“The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court has now made it clear that the claim for repayment can only be denied if players were aware of the illegality of online gambling.

The defendant online casino had to prove this connection to the player.

And that is of course difficult for the providers of illegal online casinos,” explains Hartung.

The lawyer therefore emphasizes: “Players who lost money in online casinos before July 1, 2021 should not be afraid to go to court.

The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main has opened the doors wide for successful claims for damages.

Consumers who have been harmed should not miss this.”