Curaçao Court Orders Casino to Pay €495K Over Unfair Bonus Terms
A Curaçao court has ordered Altacore NV, the operator of SmokeAce Casino, to pay a player €495,454 after freezing their account. The ruling came following a dispute over bonus terms that the court deemed misleading and unfairly altered. The decision marks another case where local courts have sided with players in online gambling conflicts.
The player initially received a €110 no-deposit bonus, subject to a 30x wagering requirement. Their account balance later grew to €495,454 before the casino froze it, citing bonus term violations. Altacore NV argued that the payout was capped at five times the bonus amount, but the court dismissed this claim.
The player countered that the bonus rules were unclear, ambiguous, and changed after gameplay had begun. The court agreed, ruling that modifying terms mid-game breached fair dealing principles. It also found the original terms poorly communicated, making them potentially misleading. This case follows a broader trend in Curaçao's courts over the past five years. Since 2021, rulings have increasingly favoured players in disputes over online casino bonuses. Under the *Landsverordening op de Kansspelen* (LOK), courts have enforced strict transparency, as seen in cases like *Player v. Casino X*, where refunds were awarded for misleading wagering requirements, and *Doe v. Operator Y*, which imposed fines for non-transparent promotions. Before 2021, decisions tended to favour operators more often.
The court's order requires Altacore NV to release the full €495,454 to the player. The ruling reinforces Curaçao's stricter stance on bonus term enforcement in online gambling. Operators now face higher scrutiny over how they communicate and apply promotional conditions.
