A man with gambling problems sued the gaming company Betsson for several million. Now the Supreme Court (HD) has decided that the man is right and the gaming company will therefore have to pay back the man just over five million kronor. The reason is that the gaming company has acted in contravention of so-called trust and fairness, which makes the agreement invalid.
It is rare for an agreement to be declared invalid with reference to that provision, says lawyer and researcher Geske Hvid.
Clear for the company
A decisive factor according to the Supreme Court is that even if Betsson did not know that there was a diagnosed gambling addiction, they had detailed digital information about the man's gaming behavior. This made it clear to the company that he had gambling problems, at the same time as he continued to play.
There must be something visible that gaming companies can react to, in this case digitally stored data, means Geske Hvid.
The Betsson judgment creates a new opportunity for private individuals who play with gaming companies to get their money back in their pocket, by declaring the agreement invalid.
Gaming companies may need to review their internal routines and see if they need to have a system with, for example, algorithms that flag when there is enough information for the company to realize that the person has gambling problems, says Geske Hvid.
Still difficult
She believes, however, that it will continue to be difficult for people to get their money back from gaming companies, as it requires a lot to make agreements invalid based on the provision on trust and fairness.
I think the bar will be set high, as it requires knowledge on the part of the company and it is difficult to prove, says Geske Hvid.
