A German court has followed the European Court of Justice in finding that gamblers can seek compensation from gambling companies if they lost money when online casinos and fruit machines were illegal in Germany .

The verdicts could have major consequences for gambling addicts , as thousands of people could potentially bring civil lawsuits against gambling companies.

A series of court decisions at regional, federal, and European level have found in favor of gamblers in the last year, beginning with the Higher Regional Court Stuttgart in September 2025, which agreed with a plaintiff in the state of Baden-Württemberg who sued the Malta-based online betting company Tipico Games.

The plaintiff lost around €10,000 ($11,200) between 2020 and 2022, but because online gambling was prohibited in Germany until 2021, the court found that operators had therefore received the winnings without legal basis and must return them.

Wins for the losers

Tipico Games then appealed to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), the…