Dutch Rapper Boef is set to file a class action lawsuit through the company Bonnetje, targeting online gambling sites that operated in the Netherlands before legalisation.
To promote the lawsuit, he has enlisted former footballer Andy van der Meijde as the face of the campaign. The pair aims to help Dutch players recover their losses.
Bonnetje announced on Instagram that individuals can join the class action through its app. The company says it will manage the entire process and provide participants with live updates on the progress of their claims.
In November last year, the Advocate General of the Dutch Supreme Court advised that pre-legalisation gambling agreements are not automatically void, a view that differs from some other European rulings. The Court will decide later this year whether to follow this opinion.
Reimbursement claims are increasing across Europe. Legal expert István Cocron recently told Global Gaming Insider: ‘’ There are thousands of judgments from Germany and Austria. I know of one operator facing claims of around €30m ($34.7m) from Austria alone.’’
Recently, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) received an opinion from an Advocate General in a key case involving a German player seeking reimbursement from Tipico. The opinion suggests that EU member states are not required to recognise each other’s gambling licences, which may support players pursuing reimbursement claims.
Meanwhile, rulings from the Austrian Supreme Court and the ECJ in the Wunner case suggest that even managers of unlicensed casinos could be held personally liable for reimbursement claims.
Many player loss cases in Germany are currently on hold due to ongoing ECJ proceedings
