Betano Ordered to Reimburse Gambler €4,380 for Exceeding Loss Limit

A German tribunal has mandated that Betano, a wagering firm owned by Kaizen Gaming, reimburse a gambler €4,380 (£3,735/$4,608) in financial setbacks. The court decided that Betano permitted the gambler to wager exceeding the national cap of €1,000 in losses.

The gambler incurred €5,380 in losses on Betano’s sports wagering platform between February 20 and March 4, 2021. This surpassed the €1,000 monthly loss limit established for German wagering businesses (with a few exceptions) by the German Gambling Law.

The gambler had also registered for the OASIS self-exclusion system, as per the gambler’s legal representative, István Koklen.

The tribunal in Ludwigslust, near Hamburg, returned €4,380 to the gambler.

“The company allowed our client to wager beyond the permissible €1,000 per month, violating the regulations of their gambling license,” Koklen stated. “We recovered the wagers that exceeded the €1,000 limit.”

At first, the spending cap only pertained to the operator level, but it was later broadened to encompass all operators in regulated markets via an accord that took effect in July 2021.

This instance is one of numerous player reimbursement cases in Germany. While this instance involves the loss limit, many previous cases have involved losses at online casinos before the industry was legalized throughout the country. Court decisions on these cases have been varied, with the Cologne Regional Court ordering reimbursements, while the Braunschweig and Leipzig Regional Courts ruled in favor of the operators.

“Before July 1, 2021, Germany had a comprehensive prohibition on online sports betting and online gambling, so it is quite probable to regain seemingly lost wagers,” stated Cochran.

In April of this year, international operator Allwyn obtained a 36.75% interest in Greek operator OPAP’s Betano, with a prepayment of €50 million as part of the agreement, plus undisclosed performance payments based on business performance in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

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