THE HAGUE – The District Court of The Hague has ruled that Curaçao-based trust company Downtown E-Commerce Company B.V. (DECC) is not liable for damages allegedly suffered by Dutch gambling operator TOTO as a result of illegal online betting websites targeting the Netherlands.
The ruling stems from a civil lawsuit filed by TOTO against several parties involved in the operation of the online gambling platforms Lala.bet and Chacha.bet. According to TOTO, the websites offered online gambling services to Dutch customers without the required Dutch licenses, creating unfair competition for legal operators in the regulated market.
DECC, a Curaçao trust office owned by Glenn Rellum, became involved in the case because it had established the company Casbit and had temporarily acted as its local managing representative.
TOTO argued that DECC had facilitated and enabled the operation of the illegal gambling platforms and should therefore be held responsible for the damages suffered by the Dutch betting company.
However, the court rejected those arguments.
According to the judges, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that DECC knew or should have known that Casbit was involved in illegal online gambling activities aimed at the Dutch market.
The court also dismissed TOTO's argument that such activities were widely known within the trust and corporate services industry. The judges concluded that this claim had not been adequately substantiated.
As a result, the court rejected TOTO's claims for damages against DECC and its former directors.
The ruling represents a significant legal victory for the Curaçao trust office, which had denied any involvement in the operation of the gambling websites and maintained that it acted solely within its role as a corporate service provider.