WILLEMSTAD – The Joint Court of Justice has rejected an attempt by former Curaçao sublicence holder NGame to block recognition of a German judgment ordering the online gambling company to repay €94,999.83 in losses to a German player.
The dispute originated in Germany, where a player successfully sued NGame in 2023. The German court ruled that the gambling agreement between the player and the online casino was invalid and ordered NGame to return almost €95,000.
NGame appealed the German judgment, but that appeal was unsuccessful. The company subsequently turned to the Joint Court of Justice in Curaçao and argued that the German ruling should not be recognized on the island.
The gambling operator based its argument on Curaçao law, contending that local civil-law provisions prevent gamblers from reclaiming losses that they voluntarily paid.
NGame therefore argued that enforcing the German ruling in Curaçao would conflict with the island’s public order.
The Joint Court disagreed.
According to the Court, the question of whether Curaçao Civil Code articles 7A:1807 through 1810 apply to online gambling did not need to be definitively resolved in order to decide the case.
The judges noted that even if those provisions were applicable to online gaming, that alone would not be enough to conclude that recognition of the German judgment would violate Curaçao’s public order.
The Court therefore recognized the German ruling.
The decision is notable because it concerns the interaction between foreign judgments and Curaçao’s gambling legislation, including the former Landsverordening buitengaatse hazardspelen and the current Landsverordening op de Kansspelen, or LOK, which entered into force on December 24, 2024.
NGame had operated under Curaçao’s former sublicensing system, which was replaced by the new licensing framework under the LOK.
The ruling means that the German judgment can be recognized in Curaçao despite NGame’s argument that the underlying repayment order conflicts with local rules governing gambling losses.
The case also illustrates the growing cross-border legal exposure of online gambling operators that historically operated from Curaçao while serving customers in European markets.