The problem of illegal games of chance is a constant problem for the regions. Three years ago, the police commissioner in Gießen had had enough. The fight against these services was drastically intensified. The special organisational structure “Spektrum” was created. The successes heaped up – and now the model will be adopted for the whole region of Hessen. The municipalities are really pleased.
In late Summer 2022 there were already reports in the German media about the 17-year-old apprentice from Carinthia who had made a complaint against the PlayStation group Sony. The claimant’s lawyer sees an infringement against the Austrian Gambling Legislation in the player selection in the FIFA loot boxes which is generated randomly after money is transferred. Several complaints followed. The case was heard at the end of February 2023.
From July 2021, amusement arcades in Baden-Württemberg cannot be located within 500 metres of children's and youth facilities. This distance requirement also applies to the premises themselves. If a casino is too close to a school, kindergarten, etc., it will not be allowed to offer games of chance. or does not have sufficient distance to its competitors, it will receive a letter from the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg. These regulations have already forced some casinos to close their doors. However, two operators do not want to go that way. Following a complaint, they have been vindicated for the time being!
Two weeks ago, the Oberverwaltungsgericht Rheinland-Pfalz decided in a summary proceeding that in Germany blocking is illegal. The GGL, the Gambling Authority for all the regions in Germany had threatened an internet provider based in Rhineland Palatinate with a high fine, if a particular illegal gambling site is not blocked. The GGL has thus suffered its first legal setback.
In the past weeks and months, we have reported several times about the requests for reimbursement of casino losses. The players have often suffered losses and received no reimbursement. In a recent case, the District Court of Ulm has accepted the request for reimbursement of 170,000 Euro made by the player. How did it come up to this amount and what was the reason for the judge’s decision?
Around two weeks ago, the State Parliament of Hesse approved an extensive amendment to the Gambling Act. In the future casino games such as Roulette or Blackjack will be permitted in this region which has more than six million inhabitants. Which conditions did the politicians impose for the casino games and from when are live games accessible to interested gambling fans?
Recently the German Federal Court made it clear in a published decision that banks must not reimburse authorised credit card payments for gambling activities. The only provision is that the relevant debit has been authorised by the player himself or herself. According to the German Federal Court, this authorisation, gives no reason for the decision to be revised, despite the fact, that there is a gambling ban going on. What does this judgement mean for the player?
Even more lawyers are trying to enforce the business approach of “playing without risk”. They encourage unsuccessful casino players to request a reimbursement of the losses they suffered when playing in an online casino. Whilst some courts are siding with players who are suing, others are refusing the claim for refund – and this is the case of a decision of the seventh chamber of the District Court Wuppertal a few weeks ago.
In March the District Court of Osnabrück had already ordered a Malta-licensed online casino to refund several thousand Euro to a player. However, despite the legally binding court judgement the casino has still not refunded the money. But why has the casino operator ignored the court judgement?
A man who had made a payment of 3000 Euro in an online casino requested the money back through his bank a short while later. However, the credit institute did not accept this request. Thus, this case ended in court in Munich. However, the judge did not accept the customer ‘s request. The latter claimed the deposit money back through the bank. The customer must therefore bear the costs.
There seems to be an upward trend in the controversial taxation of virtual slot machines. The German Tax Authority has already made several hundred million Euro from online gambling. Quite soon the tax revenue could reach billions – can this still be fair for the individual player?
An unemployed Swiss woman failed to inform the relevant authorities about her extra income after winning 9,000 CHF in a casino. Since the woman receives social benefits from the government, she was obliged to register the win. A few weeks ago she had to appear in court to respond to this. But what penalty is she facing?
The Dutch Gambling Supervisory Authority cracks hard on a Maltese online casino. As it was announced a few days ago, a record fine amounting to 500,000 Euro was imposed on the online gambling provider N1 Interactive Ltd. But why must a gambling authority pay such a high fine?
As was announced recently, the Parliament in Latvia has decided on a complete gambling ban for maintenance debtors. The gambling firms should, in the future, be duty bound to assure that all gamblers with maintenance debts not be allowed to participate in any gambling activities nationwide.
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