The Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal has rejected a €30,770 ($35,700) claim brought by a visitor against Play World casino operator Wezo Amusement, finding that the operator had not been shown to have breached its access control obligations or duty of care.
The visitor was voluntarily registered in the Netherlands' Central Register for Exclusion from Gambling (Cruks) in September 2023. Despite the exclusion, he was admitted to a Play World casino 51 times between February and April 2024 across 37 gambling days and claimed to have lost more than €30,000.
Wezo is required under the Gambling Act to check whether visitors are registered with Cruks and refuse entry where an exclusion applies. The dispute centred partly on the identification used by the visitor when entering the casino.
Wezo argued that he entered using an identity document without a Dutch citizen service number. The court considered it plausible that a foreign identity document had been used and found the visitor's account of how he gained access insufficiently substantiated. It therefore concluded that a breach of Wezo's access control obligations had not been established.
The appeal also challenged whether Wezo should have intervened because of the visitor's gambling behaviour. Dutch rules require operators to record indicators of excessive gambling, including increased playing frequency, duration and unusual betting patterns.
However, the court found insufficient evidence that the visitor's behaviour should have triggered an intervention. It said his claims about playing multiple machines were not sufficiently specific and that Wezo could not reasonably be expected to investigate every machine without further information.
The decision contrasts with a series of player-favourable rulings elsewhere in Europe. In Germany, recent judgments have found operators liable for player losses where the country's €1,000 monthly deposit limit was not enforced, while Austria has also been at the centre of litigation over the recovery of gambling losses.
The ruling comes amid wider scrutiny of player protection and Cruks compliance in the Dutch gambling market. The KSA has continued enforcement activity around operators' responsibilities to prevent excessive gambling, alongside broader regulatory measures affecting advertising and player protection.
The appeal court upheld the July 2025 judgment of the District Court of Central Netherlands and ordered the visitor to pay €5,595 in appeal costs.
In July, the KSA took action over illegal gambling advertisements appearing in mobile gaming apps, contacting organisations involved and prompting measures including the suspension of advertising partners and tighter controls.
Cruks has operated since October 2021, with Dutch gambling licensees required to refuse access when a player is registered in the exclusion system
