WILLEMSTAD – The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba has ruled that an Austrian court judgment against Curaçao-based online gambling company Raging Rhino N.V. must be recognized and enforced in Curaçao.
The decision, issued on March 10, 2026, stems from a legal dispute between the company and an Austrian player who sought reimbursement of gambling losses incurred through LuckyDays, an online casino operated by Raging Rhino.
The case originated in Austria, where the player argued that the company had offered online gambling services without holding the required Austrian license. On January 9, 2023, a court in Vienna declared the gambling agreements invalid and ordered Raging Rhino to repay €25,518.42 in gambling losses, along with €4,464.24 in legal costs.
That ruling was subsequently upheld by the Vienna Court of Appeal on March 13, 2023, which also ordered the company to pay an additional €2,286.72 in legal expenses.
Because no treaty exists between Curaçao and Austria governing the recognition of foreign judgments, the case was evaluated under general principles of private international law. The key question before the Curaçao courts was whether enforcing the Austrian judgments would violate Curaçao's public policy.
Raging Rhino argued that Curaçao's Civil Code generally prevents legal claims for gambling debts and does not allow voluntarily paid gambling losses to be recovered.
However, the Joint Court rejected that argument.
According to the Court, the recognition of a foreign judgment does not involve re-litigating the underlying dispute. Instead, the court must determine whether enforcing the foreign decision would be fundamentally incompatible with the legal principles and public order of Curaçao.
The judges concluded that the relevant provisions of Curaçao law do not automatically prevent the recognition of foreign gambling-related judgments. In reaching its decision, the Court also referred to Curaçao's existing regulatory framework for online gambling, including both the former National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard and the island's new gambling legislation.
The Court further dismissed the company's argument that Curaçao's judiciary should not become involved in such disputes. According to the ruling, recognizing foreign judgments can actually conserve judicial resources because it avoids duplicating legal proceedings that have already been completed abroad.
As a result, the Court upheld an earlier ruling by the Court of First Instance of Curaçao and confirmed that Raging Rhino must comply with the Austrian judgments.
In addition to the amounts awarded in Austria, the company was ordered to pay the legal costs of the appeal proceedings in Curaçao, including NAf. 7,500 in attorney fees and NAf. 402.89 in court expenses.
Part of a Growing Series of International Claims
The latest ruling follows a series of legal challenges involving Raging Rhino and its LuckyDays online casino platform.
In April 2026, it became public that a German woman was still waiting to recover more than €372,000 in gambling losses despite having previously obtained a favorable court ruling. The woman had secured an attachment on an escrow account containing more than €500,000, but the funds could not yet be released because they were held in a legal escrow arrangement and had not become immediately payable.
The company has also faced regulatory scrutiny. In 2021, the Dutch Gambling Authority imposed a penalty on Raging Rhino for illegally offering online gambling services through LuckyDays to Dutch players. The online casino should not be confused with the legal Lucky Day lottery game operated by the Dutch Lottery.
Dutch players are no longer able to access the unlicensed LuckyDays online casino.
Legal experts say the latest decision could have broader implications for Curaçao's online gambling sector, as it reinforces the possibility that foreign court judgments involving gambling disputes may be recognized and enforced on the island, even in the absence of a bilateral treaty.