Consumers are entitled on repayment of losses in online casinos – the decision of the OLG Frankfurt could be groundbreaking, says the Office Dr. Hoffmann & Partner RAe.
Consumers who lost money gambling at online casinos would be entitled to a full refund of their losses. This is already seen by numerous regional courts throughout Germany.
The Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt aM recently came to the conclusion that a player from Hesse is entitled to a repayment claim of around EUR 11,800.00 against the online casino provider “Casino Club”.
“The decision of the OLG Frankfurt is groundbreaking and will be signal effect for thousands of other cases. Players should now claim their money back“, ask Dr. Marcus Hoffmann and Mirko Göpfertpartner of those active in consumer protection law Office Dr. Hoffmann & Partner Attorneys from Nuremberg.
Online Casinos entice players to bet large sums with promotional websites. It is a billion-dollar business that has been additionally fueled by Corona. There are many dubious offers. What most players do not know: Organizing and arranging public games of chance on the Internet was according to the State Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV) was simply banned in Germany for a long time.
Legal ban on online casinos – lucky in disguise for players
Citizens often perceive bans as more of a disadvantage than an advantage. In the area of online casinos, however, the ban can now apply to hundreds of thousands of Germans Players residing outside of Schleswig-Holstein turn out to be a real stroke of luck.
“Because payments in connection with online gambling, which were offered contrary to the legal ban in Germany, were made without any legal reason. Losses can therefore be reclaimed by the operator of the online casino.” explains lawyer Dr. Marcus Hoffman.
The requirements for the repayment claim are very simple:
– Online gambling led to losses
– Online gambling took place before July 1st, 2021 (after that, however, losses should still be checked professionally, because the vast majority of providers acted without a license and are therefore still illegal)
– The player is resident in Germany but outside of Schleswig-Holstein
– Losses are no longer than ten years ago
LG Gießen sentenced “Casino Club” to repay the losses
The aforementioned conditions were also present in the case then decided by the OLG Frankfurt am Main. A player from Hesse had gambled away a total of EUR 11,758.50 in online casino games over the course of several months. The German-language website also offered “live roulette” among other things, with which the plaintiff unfortunately had no luck. The provider of the “Casino Club” had one Gambling license under Maltese law. She did not have a corresponding German concession. Accordingly, the LG Gießen sentenced the operator to the Full game loss refund.
The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court confirms: Player gets his losses back in the online casino
The fact that the operator of the online casino appealed against the judgment of the LG Gießen became a boomerang for her: Because the judges of the OLG Frankfurt saw it the same way as the regional court.
dr Marcus Hoffmann, Mirko Göpfert
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The decision of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court is particularly significant because, for the first time, a higher regional court is dealing in detail with the claims of players in online casinos and, as a result, it clearly turns out that Losses reclaimed from the operators who were illegally navigating the German market can become. “The decision of the OLG Frankfurt therefore has a signal effect for many other gamblers who have lost money in the online casino. The already good chances of recovering lost money have increased further.” says Göpfert.
Players are therefore strongly advised to act now. The door to online gambling loss recovery is wide open. „No false shame or consideration for the provider is the motto here. Those affected should secure the repayment of their losses immediately,” like Hoffman.
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