Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
I've just read an interesting news story concerning a German player who ended up being 65k out of pocket after being found guilty of playing blackjack at a UK site which is based in Gibraltar.He was accused of participation in an unlicensed public game of chance due to his participation in online blackjack games. The Munich player was fined 70 times at 30 Euros each fine,a total of €2100 and had €63k (found in a shoebox) confiscated.The legal analysis is complex because of the differing European laws regarding sports betting and games of chance,also to make it more confusing the firm involved was allowed to advertise their brand in Germany. I found it interesting because casinos know that it is illegal for citizens in various countries to play some casino games on their sites and do include this information in the T&Cs yet do not seem to go to any lengths to enforce this and they still paid the player his winnings. Should casino software automatically stop players from playing or is it the players responsibility to be totally aware of the laws and the casino terms regarding their country?
Joined: Jun '13
Location: Canada
Age: 80 (M)
Posts: 3700
If you remember the poker black friday all U.S. players new that they were not allowed to play on line poker. However the poker sites involved manage to have the depositors to go throught another chanmel to hide that peoples were depositing on a poker site but a legal company.
When the government discovered it they did not go after the players but stop poker sites althought players new they were against the law.
In the case you mentionned they went after the player but was it only for playing casino?? What about the 63K. in a shoebox where this money coming from casono or other scam i Think somethink is missing in this story.
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
It does seem a legit story and you will see from the report the case was heard back in 2011 but the judgement only passed September last year and released this month.The player is appealing so this is still not final.The defendant also had some cash returned and I am sure the court had records with all the facts because he had 70 separate fines which must mean he played or visited the casino 70 times.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
Age: 47 (F)
Posts: 14136
Messed up thing with all the laws. And at the end most of the times the one that loses the most is the player. They put a fine on him. They had to take the winnings also. That was the biggest hit. I doubt he will be able to get a ruling in his favor.
Joined: Aug '14
Location: Germany
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 766
Wow that is very harsh indeed. I am also from Germany and I had no idea, that you may do anything forbidden using gambling sites. Just to be sure, does this also involve any poker sites or is it just about casino games?
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
I think it is just for casino games but that is where the problem was because sports betting and poker seem to be allowed but blackjack is considered "a game of chance" even though there are plenty of high rollers who have made a fortune from the game. The laws could well have been changed now but what interested me was the fact that big firms seemed to leave it up to you to know what the local laws were.They think that you ticking a box saying you accept the T&Cs means you actually know the law but if you see Boris Becker on German TV advertising a firm you would assume you could use the whole site,unfortunately for this guy that was not the case.
Joined: Feb '14
Location: Tunisia
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 2135
this really makes me wonder if i ever won something big , will they try to find any possible way not to pay you ? is it worth to keep trying to make it in online gambling ? laws and restrictions just so they keep pure profit hope this guys wins the case
I am unable to name a single one highroller who 'made a fortune' of blackjack. If they did, they counted cards. If they counted the cards sooner or later every Vegas place blacklisted them without even considering the situation - since the money they lost to cardcounters is always greater than the money they would bring in. Yes, there are sharks, who are betting 10-50k chips per hand, but they hardly drying out any casino since they will alaways be back for more, and thats when they loosing the previously earned sum and more.
