WILLEMSTAD – A court in Curaçao has ordered the gambling company Altacore NV to pay more than €495,000 to a local player who won the money at the online casino SmokeAce.
The ruling, issued in late February, followed a lawsuit filed by a Curaçao resident after the casino refused to pay out his winnings. SmokeAce argued that the player was limited to a maximum win of €550 because the winnings were connected to a promotional bonus. The court rejected that argument and ruled in favor of the player.
The case began in March 2024 when the player created an account with SmokeAce. About a month later, he received an email informing him that he had been assigned a VIP manager. The email also offered him a €110 no-deposit bonus, which had to be wagered 30 times before it could be converted into real money.
After receiving the bonus, the player began gambling immediately and successfully met the wagering requirements. On April 19, 2024, he requested three withdrawals of €1,000 each. He continued playing afterward and eventually increased his balance to €495,454.98, according to the court documents.
Shortly afterward, SmokeAce notified the player by email that his account and balance had been frozen. The casino claimed that its terms limited winnings from the VIP bonus to five times the bonus amount, or €550. The player argued that he had never been aware of such a rule.
During the court proceedings, the player also raised questions about the clarity of the casino’s terms and conditions. According to him, the terms referenced by SmokeAce were dated October 2022 but appeared to have been changed multiple times afterward. He also argued that the terms were not downloadable, making it difficult for players to verify which conditions applied when they registered.
The player further stated that the large winnings were generated while playing the slot game Gates of Olympus, a game that could not be played using bonus funds. This, he argued, demonstrated that he had already been playing with real money at the time the major winnings occurred.
SmokeAce maintained that the player had violated its rules and argued that he should have withdrawn the maximum bonus-related winnings first before continuing to play with new deposits. The casino also alleged that the player had created multiple accounts, but the player denied this and explained that he only had accounts with other online casinos belonging to the same parent group.
The court found no evidence that the player had violated the rules and described the casino’s argument about mandatory withdrawals before continuing to play as illogical. It therefore ruled that Altacore must pay the full amount of €495,454.98.
It remains uncertain whether the player will ultimately receive the money. About a week after the ruling on February 23, 2026, the player’s lawyer, Roelof Bijkerk, reported that several online casinos previously operated by Altacore had been transferred to another company, Fortuna Games NV.
Fortuna Games also holds a license issued by the Curaçao Gaming Control Board. Bijkerk has called on the regulator to investigate both companies, suspecting that Altacore may be attempting to avoid its payment obligation by transferring the casino operations to another entity.
Both Altacore and Fortuna Games are reportedly represented by the Curaçao-based trust office SMES.