The court in the Netherlands has forced several gaming operators to pay back the money their customers lost while gambling.
For instance, PokerStars returned over $230,000 to a gambler who lost them between 2006 and 2021. Bwin and Unibet had to pay back €187,000 and €72,000 respectively. Meanwhile, more and more players appeal to the court to get back their money.
What is wrong with that? Here's some context
The regulated iGaming market was launched in the Netherlands in 2021. Of course, Dutch gamblers had gambled before that. The bookmakers and casinos they gambled with, were mostly legal, like the above-mentioned operators, and they applied for a license to work in the Netherlands as soon as it became possible.
However, the court didn't consider that. Moreover, Germany has followed suit: a local gambler demanded €12,000 he lost in 2018 from Betano and the court is apparently on the plaintiff's side.
These decisions set an example that can lead to drastic changes in the entire industry. First of all, the more people manage to get their money back, the more gamblers jump on the bandwagon. That would cause iGaming operators to provide potential losses in their budgets.
But most importantly, unlicensed operators will no longer see why they would need to make their work in a country entirely legal if it leads to huge financial damage.
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