Can You Get a Refund from an Illegal Online Casino? What Berliners Need to Know Following the ECJ Ruling

On April 16, 2026 (Case C-440/23), the European Court of Justice issued a ruling that supports players. Anyone who wants to gamble today without ending up in court themselves in a few years should look for reputable online casinos with a German license. For losses incurred before licensing took effect, however, it’s worth taking a closer look at the ruling.

Anyone who has ever fought for compensation after a delayed flight from BER knows the pattern: The right exists on paper, but the money only comes when you have the right documentation and patience—and sometimes only with the help of a lawyer. Since this spring, many who used to gamble online have been asking a very similar question: Will I get my losses back if the provider wasn’t even authorized in Germany?

What the Luxembourg Case Was About

The case was triggered by an incident in Germany that was heard in Malta. Between June 2019 and July 2021, a player had lost money playing virtual slot machines and placing bets on lottery drawings with two Maltese providers. At that time, online gambling was generally prohibited in Germany. He assigned his claims to a company, which sued the providers in a Maltese court.

The operators argued that the German ban violated the freedom to provide services within the EU and that their Maltese license should also be valid in Germany. Furthermore, they claimed the player had abused the law by knowingly gambling there. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) saw it differently: A member state may strictly regulate or completely ban online gambling to protect consumers and curb black markets. The fact that Germany replaced the ban with a licensing system in July 2021 does not change this.

What This Means for Players in Berlin

The ruling does not yet mean players can transfer funds to their own accounts. The ECJ has only clarified the issues under European law; the court in Malta must now decide. In Germany, the ball is in the court of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), which had specifically suspended its leading cases pending the ruling from Luxembourg.

On September 17, 2026, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe heard the case. In one of the cases, a player from the southwest had lost approximately €10,000 playing online slot machines operated by Tipico between December 2020 and September 2022; the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court had ruled in his favor in September 2025. According to reports from the courtroom, the panel is inclined to allow lawsuits to be filed at the player’s place of residence. It plans to announce its rulings on January 28, 2027.

For Berlin residents, this means, above all, that the claims must pertain to losses incurred between December 2020 and September 2022 or involve providers that never held a German license. Anyone considering claiming a refund will need, above all, bank statements and gaming histories. It is equally important to check the statute of limitations. Many law firms work with litigation funders who retain a portion of the settlement if the case is successful. You should carefully compare these shares before signing any agreement.

Website Blocking: Approved, but Not Yet in Effect

It is often claimed that illegal sites are now blocked by internet service providers anyway. The reality is not quite that straightforward. The Second State Treaty Amending the State Treaty on Gambling was signed by all states in March 2026 and is intended to allow the GGL to require even pure access providers to block sites. However, it will not take effect until all 16 states have ratified it, and as of September, the state legislatures were still deliberating on it.

To date, the agency has failed in court on several occasions, most recently in March 2025 before the Federal Administrative Court. In August 2026, the Halle Administrative Court also blocked several of its orders, including an attempt to compel Google to hide search results. Anyone who comes across a casino online cannot therefore assume that it is legal simply because the site is accessible.

How to Check a Provider in Two Minutes

The most reliable test costs nothing. The Joint State Gambling Authority maintains an official whitelist of all operators licensed in Germany. If the name isn’t on that list, the service isn’t authorized here—no matter how professional it looks or what seal appears in the footer.

The account itself provides further clues. Legitimate providers ask for a deposit limit during registration—which is generally capped at €1,000 per month across all providers combined—and cross-check every account against the OASIS blacklist. If both are missing, that’s a clear red flag. Those who prefer to rely on a pre-selected list of legitimate providers can skip the individual checks, but should still take a look at the whitelist themselves.

And then the same rules apply as after a delayed flight: Take screenshots, keep records of deposits, save emails, and file away bank statements. Whether you want to claim a refund later or simply want to know where your money went, a well-organized folder is worth more in both cases than any promise on a homepage.