An online casino from Malta has to pay back almost 62,000 euros to a gambler. The Munich Higher Regional Court (OLG) has now confirmed this decision of the Kempten Regional Court from September 1st last year in an appeal procedure. The man from Allgäu invested almost 163,000 euros between 2016 and 2022 and only received around 101,000 euros back in the distributions.
But the gambling was illegal. When the man lost his money, the casino “Play Cherry Limited” did not have a German license for online gambling, but only a license from the Maltese Gaming Authority. The company has only been able to offer online sports betting in Germany since April 2022, and virtual slot games since May 2023.
The man went to court and wanted his money back. He was represented by the Berlin law firm Goldenstein Rechtsanwälte, which claims to have been successful in around 650 similar cases. “Many affected players gambled away tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros, got into debt and are now left in a shambles,” said lawyer Claus Goldenstein after the OLG’s decision. “Affected consumers often place the hope of a new beginning in claiming back their gambling losses.”
In general, the nationwide liberalization of the online gambling market only occurred in July 2021, when the new State Treaty on Gambling came into force. Previously, there was only an exception in Schleswig-Holstein, whereby companies licensed there were only allowed to target residents of the state.
Nevertheless, numerous online gambling providers were already advertising for German customers throughout Germany years before the new State Treaty on Gambling came into force – including Play Cherry Limited.
However, without a German gaming license, the company would never have been allowed to accept money from German consumers. Therefore, affected gamblers can claim back their gambling losses from online casinos without a German license retroactively for up to ten years.