Another mass claim to be issued against online casinos for illegal gambling

The advocacy group Gokverliesterug is starting a collective lawsuit against online casinos like Unibet, Bet365, and Bwin. The group wants to demand compensation for hundreds of Dutch people for money lost when gambling on the internet was still illegal. Gokverliesterug said that the fee that they are claiming differs per person.

Since October 2021, online casinos have been allowed to offer online gambling if they have a license to do so. However, many foreign online casinos had let thousands of Dutch people gamble on their sites before this, said Gokverliesterug, which is hoping for many people to report these incidents to them. Attorney’s office Loonstein started a similar mass claim in July.

Lawyer’s office Finch is representing Gokverliesterug. “Many foreign online casinos ignored the Dutch rules for a long time with the assumption that enforcement would not be so tough,” said Koen Rutten, a lawyer for Finch. "They must be accountable for that period, even if they now have a permit."

According to Rutten, many casinos have been set up in places with beneficial tax laws like Malta. “We hope for a quick settlement of the case, but thanks to a litigation funder, we have sufficient clout to conduct lengthy proceedings, if necessary, up to and including the European Court." Thousands of consumers have already successfully recovered their losses in Germany and Austria.

Courts have ruled on this issue in the Netherlands in various ways. The Supreme Court has been given questions to clarify whether gamblers can get their lost money back from unlicensed online providers.

Benzi Loonstein, a lawyer who has already initiated many individual cases in the Netherlands, expects the Supreme Court to release its decision regarding this at the beginning of 2025.

He is hopeful, as there have been 40 verdicts in the Netherlands, and the ruling only went against the gambler on one occasion, according to him. He thinks many people will file a claim if the Supreme Court decides that people should get their money back.

The firm also reported that more than 20,000 people have registered for Loonstein Advocaten's mass claim. The summons is being worked on.