Were online gambling games in Germany illegal for years? The European Court of Justice will soon clarify this question. If he answers yes with yes, the sports betting industry threatens a shallow wave of lawsuits.
For many sports betting fans, this promise sounds almost too beautiful to be true: money that you have lost in online gambling can be recovered. In this country, more and more law firms and so -called process financers are promising, aggressively advertising it. You specialize in dealing with providers of sports betting and online casinos.
What the plaintiffs rely on: Numerous sports betting providers such as Tipico, Betano or Bwin acted in Germany between 2013 and 2021 without a German license. As a result, their offers would be illegal and the contracts concluded between the provider and player would be void. Some dishes in this country already fell in favor of the players, thousands of procedures are still running.
Important: It is all about bets completed online in the said period. There is talk of a possible recovery volume of 20 billion euros.
It was only in 2021 that the German market was officially and uniformly regulated by online gambling with the new Gaming State Treaty. Before that, the local market was unregulated, accordingly there were no licenses that could have acquired providers. They still offered bets. Some say that was exactly illegal. The others, namely the sports betting providers, relate to the applicable European law that their business was allowed.
The industry is therefore eagerly awaiting a decision by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. There, the leading process of Hamburg’s process financier Gamesright has now landed against the largest betting provider in Germany, Tipico.
After the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had issued a notice of reference in early 2024, which was in favor of the players, the Supreme German Court subsequently suspended the proceedings and passed on the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, where it should be decided. According to T-online information, the negotiation begins in November this year.
There it is to be decided whether the lack of a license can be negatively interpreted for gambling providers, even if they had no opportunity to apply for one in the relevant period – and betting can reclaim their missions accordingly.
Tipico claims that its online offer was legal at all times under European law: “Until October 2020, Tipico was able to legally offer their offer in Germany on the basis of the Maltese sports competition that had been grown since 2004 and on the basis of the freedom of services of the internal market of the European Union,” said the gambling company in the NDR last year.
Gamesright, on the other hand, keeps, co-founder Hannes Beuck says to T-Online: “The legal basis for this is clear: Between 2013 and 2021, many providers without a valid license were active, their offers are prohibited. Contracts with these providers are void according to ยง 134 BGB, which means that losses are reclaimed.”
Companies such as Gamesright provide the players lawyers and cover the process costs against a commission in the event of success or buy their claims directly.
Who can reclaim their money? All players residing in Germany who lost on online sports betting during the period mentioned. Experience has shown that a recovery is worthwhile from around 2,000 euros – with lower sums – the effort can exceed the potential yield. Basically, the higher the loss, the more economical the procedure. “
He promises: “There is no cost risk for our customers because we work according to the principle of success fee.” A preliminary examination of possible recovery claims is free of charge and without obligation for the customer.
Tipico, on the other hand, rejects the allegations. Managing Director Axel Hefer recently expressed himself in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ) convinced that “the right thing was done on the basis of the EU law regulations”.