The court’s decision stems from a change in Dutch gambling laws in October 2021, legalizing online gambling, which has prompted individuals who lost substantial amounts of money before this date to pursue legal action, claiming their losses were unlawful. Unibet has expressed its intention to object to the ruling, opening the case for reexamination at a later date.

The Company Allegedly Operated without Permission

According to the court, Unibet must repay €93,000 ($99,902) to one gambler, while another company, whose identity remains undisclosed, was ordered to refund an amount of €124,000 ($133,203). These rulings were classified as default judgments, indicating that the defendants failed to respond. However, a Unibet representative noted that the company’s lack of response was due to human error and it would seek its legal rights.

Lawyer Benzi Loonstein, representing several former gamblers, including the two in these cases, noted that his clients were happy with the court’s ruling despite expecting a continued legal battle. The judges in both cases agreed with his arguments, indicating that Unibet may face a significant challenge in contesting this decision.

Simply put, if a company acts contrary to the law, it is not entitled to the money earned.

Lawyer Benzi Loonstein

The Netherlands is not alone in addressing claims regarding similar losses. Similar lawsuits, with a success rate of nearly 100%, have been conducted in Germany and Austria in recent years. Tens of millions of euros have already been recovered from gambling companies in almost 7,000 cases, with the argument being that companies acting against the law are not entitled to profits from such activities.

Unibet Faces Rising Pressures

An unsuccessful appeal by Unibet could cause significant long-term problems for the operator as more clients attempt to seek compensation in court. Given the successful track record of other such attempts in high-profile European jurisdictions, Unibet’s legal team will be hard-pressed to ensure success. This development closely follows the company’s ongoing issues in other European markets amidst increasing regulatory pressures.

September saw Kindred, the company behind Unibet, withdraw from Norway after a costly and protracted legal battle. The court claimed the operator had been operating illegally amidst the country’s intensifying efforts to regulate its gambling market. This development dealt a significant blow to Kindred’s European ambitions, and the new setbacks in the Netherlands have undermined its foothold in another high-profile jurisdiction.

The recent rise in refund claims has raised significant concerns in Malta, which is home to many casinos, including Unibet. The region revised its gambling law in June with Bill 55, which allows gambling companies to disregard foreign judgments when gamblers seek refunds, safeguarding against such demands. The European Commission is investigating this change in law, which goes against EU regulations.

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888poker has announced that the money was recovered from players’ accounts that had been found to violate the company’s fair gaming policy. 

The Fight Against Unfair Gaming Advantages Carries On

When commenting about the news, 888 Holdings’ online poker network also spoke about their ongoing battle against the rising issue of bots, real-time advisors, and the use of Artificial Intelligence software programming meant to give players unfair advantages over real-life poker players. 

Poker bots represent illegal and unethical computer programs that can play poker without human intervention, offering players unfair advantages. Real-time advisor software is capable of reading data from poker tables from computer screens and using it on a different computer to provide real-time gameplay advice. The same software can display real-time optimal play solutions for both preflop and postflop scenarios.

Most of these programs are compatible with heads-up poker players between two players, as well as tables with a maximum of three, four, eight, or nine players. They can also be used during cash games and poker tournaments. 

The same real-time advisor software that 888poker is struggling to ban can also save a player’s hand history for any poker room and provide them with useful statistics.

By continuously investing in better detection capacities that can spot this type of unethical software and bots, 888poker aims to guarantee “safe, fair, and enjoyable” experiences for all of its players.

32% Rise in the Number of Detections in 2022

The record amount that was refunded to 6,801 players’ accounts over the course of last year was possible thanks to all these efforts shown by 888 Holdings’ online poker division. 

On average, each player was refunded $42. 888poker explained the new results marked a 32% rise in the number of detections of players conspiring with each other to obtain unfair upper hands compared to 2021. Then, the company seized over $300,000 in funds that were found to be operated by poker accounts using bots or Artificial Intelligence-based poker software.

888poker’s head of poker offering Matan Krakow spoke about the important topic of game integrity that the company has taken and will continue to take “very seriously.”

He added that thanks to their ongoing technology investments, the hard efforts of their team members, and the excellent cooperation of their players, the detection rate of bot accounts, collusion, and real-time advisors have gone up significantly, leading to the record refunding amount reached in 2023. 

Krakow also anticipated that the current year will follow the same path, with the same strong focus on guaranteeing the fairest and safest experiences for all players who will choose the 888poker platform to play. 

In February, 888poker named Spanish poker player Lucia Navarro its new ambassador.

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