German courts open door for thousands to reclaim online gambling losses

German courts have ruled that gamblers may seek compensation from online gambling companies for losses incurred during the period when such activity was illegal in Germany, potentially exposing operators to thousands of civil lawsuits.

The legal chain began at the Higher Regional Court Stuttgart in September 2024, which found in favour of a plaintiff from Baden-Württemberg who sued Malta-based Tipico Games. The plaintiff had lost around €10,000 — roughly $11,200 — between 2020 and 2022. Because online gambling was prohibited in Germany until 2021, the court ruled that Tipico Games had received the winnings without legal basis and must return them.

Tipico Games appealed to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), Germany's highest civil and criminal court. At an initial verbal hearing in mid-September this year, the BGH aligned with the core of the plaintiffs' case on one key point: that gamblers have the right to reclaim losses from that period.

The ruling follows a finding by the European Court of Justice that gamblers can seek such compensation, adding a European dimension to the German litigation landscape.

For gambling addicts and casual players who lost money to online casinos or fruit machines before the 2021 legalisation, the rulings represent a concrete path to recovery through civil litigation. The number of potential claimants runs into the thousands.