Casino losses: the business with the immediate recoupment

In the past we have on several occasions spoken about the request for reimbursement of casino losses. Meanwhile there have already been several judgements which very often were in favour of the players. The judgements which very often favoured the players have led to the fact that even more legal forms want to profit from the situation as well. They often offer the players the so-called “immediate recoupment”. Should players enter such a deal?

Around two years ago in an article we had questioned whether it is a good idea to ask for a reimbursement of the casino losses suffered. At that time, we had concluded that this procedure can under certain circumstances even lead to criminal proceedings. Such a practise can even be seen as morally reprehensible, and it does not help to improve (problematic) behaviour. Those who look up on the internet how to recover the losses suffered in an online casino often come up on adverts from several legal firms and providers, which specialise in this area. The problem: these providers are often pursuing their own financial interests. Therefore, they often try to buy off the very promising casino claims cheaply from inexperienced players.

Claiming casino losses – when is that possible and when does it make sense?

In the past when a player had lost money in an online casino, he had the possibility to claim back the casino losses from the provider, under certain circumstances. The prerequisite for this was that the gambling provider involved did not hold a valid games of chance licence at the time and was therefore operating illegally. However, no reimbursement claim can be derived from just the illegality of the service. We had reported about this last summer when we reported about a judgement of the District Court of Wuppertal, when the court had explicitly refused the reimbursement of casino losses.

And even when a court orders an online casino to reimburse the player’s losses it does not necessarily mean that the player will one day receive the money back. This was the case in an article we had published last August, whereby despite a legally binding judgement of the District Court of Osnabrück a gambling provider still did not reimburse the money which was lost. 

How does the business of an “immediate recoupment” work in the online casino?

In the past several German players had lost money in online casinos. Since several online casinos were operated without the necessary licence, some clever legal firms see this as an opportunity to claim for a recoupment of casino losses. There have been many judgements in favour of the players. Just recently, the Supreme Court in Austria had ruled that the losses suffered when playing online poker may be claimed from a casino operator. For this reason the legal firms which specialise in this areas are trying to buy off the cases from players for which claims can be made and which can be very promising and thus worth the effort – the talk is of an “immediate recoupment”.

The casino player sees this type of compensation as very attractive. He receives a reimbursement of part of his losses from the online casinos without waiting for long and he only must submit the corresponding documentation to the lawyer. How does this “immediate recoupment“ actually work in practice?

1. Submitting the information (e.g., contact details, proof of losses, casino name)
2. Claim is reviewed (lawyers review whether the case can be successful)
3. Player receives the offer and signs declaration of assignment.
4. Player immediately receives the agreed recoupment amount from the legal firm (debt purchasing)

Players only receive a mere fraction of their casino losses

Till now the business of “casino immediate recoupment” sounds attractive for both parties. But is it really so attractive? Rather not. The providers most often only reimburse a mere fraction of the amount suffered in casino losses as “immediate recoupment“. Experience shows that only 15, 10 or even 5 per cent of the amount is offered as “immediate recoupment”. In June 2022 we had also reported that online casinos are very often refusing to accept the players’ claims.

Example: a player has lost 10,000 Euro in an illegal casino A and he is interested in an “immediate recoupment” since he cannot wait, and he does not want to bear the risk of litigation costs. It can then be the case that he only receives 1000 or even 500 Euro from the legal firm. The latter will then claim the losses in its own name. Of course the lawyers only buy the claims which look promising. They know at which online casinos they stand good chances of winning the case. In this case then the legal firm would ideally receive the full 10,000 Euro plus all the legal fees from the provider. 

Conclusion

Finally, it is apparent that the business of the “immediate recoupment” is morally and legally questionable in many cases. Many inexperienced gambling enthusiasts are forced to pay for the second time. After they have lost in the online casino the promising claims of the players are bought off cheaply, so that the legal firms can make high profits, The alternative for the casino players would be to enforce the claims themselves with the help of a lawyer. In this case if the player is found right by the court, he receives the full amount of casino losses back. Or one can accept the fact that he had no luck and accept the loss.

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