WILLEMSTAD – An online casino operating under a Curaçao license has been ordered by the Court of First Instance to pay out $30,000 in winnings to a player after wrongfully refusing to do so. The court also held Curaçao Interactive Licensing (CIL), the license holder, jointly responsible for the payout.
The case involved a player who, on September 11, 2023, deposited $1,304 at the online casino run by Entretetenimiento Rojo B.V. and received a bonus of $215 during play. After turning the deposit into a $30,000 win, the player was unable to withdraw his funds.
The casino argued that he had violated bonus rules by placing bets exceeding $5 per round and by purchasing bonus features.
Player Unaware of Bonus Conditions
The player maintained that he only discovered he had received a bonus while already playing and was unaware of the specific conditions. With the assistance of attorney Roel Bijkerk, he demanded full payment of his winnings, or at least half as a settlement. The casino refused.
The court ruled that the casino had not properly presented its terms and conditions in a legally valid way. Under Curaçao’s Civil Code, online gaming terms must be made digitally available in a format that allows players to store and review them later. The casino failed to prove compliance with this requirement.
As a result, the court dismissed the reliance on bonus terms, ruling that the full winnings must be paid. “The nullification has hit its target,” the judge stated.
CIL’s Duty of Care
In addition, the court confirmed that CIL, as the license holder, bears a duty of care to ensure that its sublicensees honor legitimate player winnings. This principle had previously been established by the Joint Court of Justice, which emphasized that license holders must guarantee payouts of legitimately won prizes.
Both Entretetenimiento Rojo B.V. and CIL were ordered to pay the $30,000 in full, along with interest, 2,250 guilders in collection costs, and more than 4,000 guilders in legal fees.
The ruling reinforces the obligation of Curaçao’s license holders to ensure fair treatment of players and could signal tighter scrutiny of online casinos operating under the island’s jurisdiction.
