ECJ Opinion and Its Impact on German Gambling Loss Claims

Several ongoing lawsuits by German players against international online casino operators have received support from the European Court of Justice. These players are seeking to recoup losses incurred by engaging with international online casino platforms, which were not legal under German law at the time. But will the opinion of the ECJ have much effect? 

While Germany currently has consistent and strong regulations across the entire country for online gambling, allowing them to confidently access many of the best online casinos at Betterbonus.com, the previous laws were not as clear, and those inconsistencies had been exploited. At least, this is the claim of German players who have lost money engaging in online casino gaming with international operators. At the time of their playing, these operators were offering their services to German residents illegally, and players are seeking to recoup losses they suffered while playing during this time. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has, as of September last year, indicated its opinion that these German players are well within their rights to pursue such claims, and it believes that they will, in many cases, be successful in recouping said losses.

Let’s take a closer look at what exactly the German players are claiming and what the inconsistencies in regulation were, and at why the opinion of the ECJ could be important in these cases.

The Complex Regulatory Environment That Was

Before the current German regulatory environment for gambling, the Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021 or GlüStV 2021), Germany had a fragmented and complex regulatory environment. Every state had its own regulations and legality surrounding online gambling, and it was often unclear whether or not online operators did in fact have the legal right to offer services to residents. Some of these operators had licenses from other jurisdictions in Europe, such as Malta, but were still not authorised to serve German residents explicitly.

Now, of course, German players are able to confidently engage with platforms listed on a no deposit bonus code list in Germany, as long as they can see that those platforms are regulated and licensed by the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL). But in the past, much of the online casino ecosystem in Germany operated in a gray area. In this gray area, many German players still engaged with online platforms, even when they were operating without any license to do so in Germany.

Since then, a growing number of lawsuits have been lodged in Germany by players against these international operators. These players are attempting to recoup the losses that they incurred while playing at these illegal online platforms. Players claim that, as the operators were acting illegally under German law, all contracts between them and players are void, and players are entitled to receive the money they lost back.

Why Does the ECJ Matter Here?

The ECJ is important here because the laws in question go beyond Germany. The European Union has its own set of laws that member states and businesses operating within them must abide by. In this context, the court has been called on to ensure that the national regulatory autonomy of Germany does not conflict with the EU’s principles of free movement of services and establishment.

In this specific case, the question is whether or not the previous laws in Germany, which restricted online gambling, were in line with broader EU laws. More specifically, the question is whether operators who had legally established themselves in other EU countries were unfairly being restricted from operating in Germany when there was no clear licensing framework for them to work with.

If the ECJ had decided that the regulatory approach that Germany had previously employed was not in keeping with broader EU law, then the majority of players’ cases against international operators would be unlikely to succeed.

Some Legal Questions on the Table

There are a few legal questions on the table that the opinion of the ECJ is likely to affect for cases that are still ongoing in Germany, such as:

Did Operators Act Outside the Law?

Because the main argument of many of the German players is that the online casino operators were acting illegally, this is an important question. If the ECJ were to decide that the German restrictions on online casino operators were not in keeping with EU law, then operators could claim they were acting within the law.

Should Players Be Able to Recoup Losses?

There is already a precedent among German courts for players to be able to recoup money lost in this way, but this was based on the operators acting unlawfully. If the ECJ challenges the idea that operators were acting outside the law, then players are less likely to be ruled in favor of by German courts.

Should Operators Be Held Responsible?

While operators are currently being held responsible for offering their services in an environment that was legally unclear, arguments could be made that the responsibility should actually be on regulators for failing to provide a clearly regulated environment. The ECJ could well lean towards this interpretation.

ECJ Opinion Sees Immediate Legal Impact

For German players with courses pending before courts, the opinion of the ECJ on this matter is likely to have immediate impacts. German judges are likely to be happy to take the ECJ opinion into consideration and could even overturn previous rulings.

Fortunately for players, the opinion of the ECJ seems to be largely in their favor. If anything, most cases for players seeking reimbursement have been strengthened, and they are more likely now to receive their money back.

But the ECJ has not given a definitive answer on whether or not Germany’s past regulatory environment was, in fact, in keeping with broader EU laws. That assessment has been left to the discretion of national courts.

Final Thoughts

The opinion of the ECJ looked like being one of the last options for international online casino operators to avoid having to deal with German players seeking financial reimbursement. With the ECJ’s opinion favoring players, German courts will continue to decide on a case-by-case basis whether or not players should receive remuneration. For global online gambling, and especially for online gambling within the EU, this opinion could be an important precedent for the ECJ to set.