The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has delivered a major ruling in favour of online gambling operators, confirming that agreements made with players before the country’s regulated iGaming market launched in 2021 cannot automatically be declared invalid.
The decision ends a period of legal uncertainty for several operators that served Dutch customers before the introduction of the Remote Gambling Act (KOA Act), which officially regulated online betting and casino activities from 1 October 2021.
The case focused on whether gambling agreements between customers and operators under the previous Games of Chance Act (WOK) of 1964 should be considered void because those companies did not hold a Dutch licence at the time.
Several former players had argued that, since the operators were unlicensed before the KOA framework came into effect, their gambling losses should be refunded. The cases reached the Supreme Court after referrals from the District Court of Amsterdam and the District Court of North Holland.
However, the Supreme Court concluded that the wording and structure of the old legislation did not support the argument that such agreements were automatically invalid. As a result, historic gambling losses cannot be reclaimed simply because an operator lacked a Dutch licence before the market was regulated.
The ruling is particularly important for companies that operated in the Netherlands before 2021, including brands such as Bwin, PartyCasino, PartyPoker and Unibet.
Entain, which owns Bwin, PartyCasino and PartyPoker, welcomed the decision, stating that it confirms its long-held position that pre-October 2021 gambling agreements remain valid and that related losses cannot be recovered by claiming those agreements were void.
The judgment could also have wider consequences for ongoing legal actions, including a €75m claim against Unibet brought by claims organisation Dynamiet on behalf of around 2,500 former customers.
While the ruling provides operators with greater legal certainty over past activity, the Dutch market continues to face regulatory pressure, including stricter advertising rules, increased player protection measures and concerns over illegal gambling operators.