WILLEMSTAD – The Court of First Instance of Curaçao has once again ruled that an Austrian court judgment against online casino operator Raging Rhino can be recognized in Curaçao. The decision means the company must repay more than €19,000 in gambling losses to an Austrian player.
The case concerns an Austrian customer who lost money while playing at an online casino operated by Raging Rhino. Because the company did not have an Austrian license to offer online gambling services in the country, the player filed a case before an Austrian court seeking reimbursement of her losses.
In February 2024, the Regional Court for Civil Matters in Vienna (Landesgericht für Zivilrechtssachen Wien) ruled in favor of the player and ordered Raging Rhino to repay €19,106, plus interest and legal costs. An appeal by the Curaçao-based operator was rejected by the Higher Regional Court of Vienna (Oberlandesgericht Wien) in May 2024.
Recognition in Curaçao
After the Austrian rulings became final, Raging Rhino attempted to prevent their recognition in Curaçao. The company argued that recognizing the foreign judgments would conflict with Curaçao’s public order.
The Court of First Instance rejected that argument. The judge ruled that the legal requirements for recognizing foreign judgments had been met and that enforcing the Austrian decisions did not violate fundamental principles of Curaçao’s legal system.
The court emphasized that refusing recognition on public order grounds should be done only in exceptional circumstances. The judge also noted that Raging Rhino could have avoided the situation by complying with Austrian licensing requirements before offering gambling services to Austrian residents.
The company’s request to block recognition was therefore dismissed. In a counterclaim, Raging Rhino was ordered to comply with the Austrian judgment and pay the legal costs of the Curaçao proceedings.
The ruling is immediately enforceable, meaning the player can begin enforcement procedures even if further legal steps are attempted.
Similar cases
The ruling follows a series of similar cases involving Austrian players seeking refunds from online casinos that operated on the Austrian market without the required local licenses.
Earlier this year, the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands also ruled that an Austrian judgment against Curaçao-based Raging Rhino N.V. had to be recognized in Curaçao.
Meanwhile, another legal battle involving Raging Rhino continues. A German woman is still waiting for repayment of more than €372,000 in gambling losses despite previously winning a case against the company.
She had secured an attachment on a third-party escrow account containing more than €500,000, but a Curaçao court ruled that the funds could not yet be released because the money was held under an escrow arrangement and was not legally payable at that time.
The growing number of cases reflects increasing international legal pressure on online gambling operators regarding licensing requirements and consumer protection.