EU top court sides with users of online gambling seeking restitution
16.04.2026, DPA
Photo: Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
Users of online gambling services can sue the betting operator for reimbursement of their losses if online gambling is prohibited in their home country, the European Union's top court ruled on Thursday.
The decision is linked to the case of a German resident seeking restitution for losses playing virtual slot machines and other games online provided by two Maltese companies, even though online gambling was largely prohibited under German law at the time.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled that EU law neither precludes national online gambling bans nor a civil action for restitution brought forward by a consumer.
The ECJ also clarified that a later reform of German online gambling legislation does not restrict the user's rights to claim restitution.
Despite the freedom to provide services across the bloc under EU law, member states can restrict this freedom for "consumer protection and the protection of social order," the court said.
Online gambling qualifies for such an exemption as it poses a particular risk to consumers "due to the permanence of access, the isolation and anonymity of the player, the absence of social control, the potentially unlimited frequency, and its attractiveness to young and vulnerable persons."
The court in Malta dealing with the claim for restitution had asked the ECJ for guidance in the case. The court has to take Thursday's ruling into account in taking a decision.
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