While the gambling industry has always had its fair share of critics due to its perceived dangers, legal challenges by those on the losing side of a bet have been relatively rare.
However, as the industry does more to prevent harm and commits to greater player-safety measures, is it increasingly open to legal challenges when its attempts to protect players fall short?
Law firms seem to think so. A DLA Piper Netherlands video published on LinkedIn this week highlights the gambling industry as one that faces growing risks from class actions, with cases increasingly targeting licensing issues and compensation claims.
While recent examples of courts’ ruling in favour of claimants have involved operators targeting gamblers in jurisdictions they are not licensed to operate in, DLA Piper lawyer Richard van Schaik characterised recent lawsuits as being “part of a larger global campaign”, with partner Marnix Holtzer warning operators that “one action influences the other”.
“In our experience the legal questions will go much deeper than just licensing. Issues like market abuse and the lack of duty of care to vulnerable gamblers are obvious targets”, Holtzer added. “The gambling industry should brace for impact and prepare better than it has so far.”
Now, this is a slick marketing video put together by an international law firm – and lawyers are nothing if not persuasive – but it struck me that this may be a relevant issue over the coming year.
As the DLA Piper lawyers alluded to, in April of last year, a Dutch court ordered two unlicensed online-gambling companies to reimburse players who had lost approximately $224,000 each. Since then, more lawsuits have sprung into action, backed by advocacy groups and law firms with an interest in such claims.
The increasing onus on regulation and player protection across the globe give claimants better grounds for their cases. If an operator promises to protect its players and does not, it may be open to legal challenge. If it breaks its licensing conditions in any way, it may be seen as having illegitimately profited from vulnerable players and be open to legal challenges. The opportunities for legal action are rapidly broadening.
As British daytime TV ad campaigns for no-win no-fee personal-injury lawyers like to remind us: “Where there is blame, there is a claim.”
You can’t blame a gambling operator if you lose your money on a fair bet, but if that operator failed in its duty to make that bet fair, a good lawyer can probably identify some blame for your loss.
The possibilities for claims really are endless and operators’ in-house counsel should be looking out for the pitfalls now.
In the UK, updated regulations are gradually being eased in off the back of the gambling-reform White Paper published in 2023. UK law firm Leigh Day, which has a gleaming track record of successful public-interest class actions, is watching the development of UK gambling policy closely.
The firm actively appeals to people seeking recourse against gambling companies and has already represented the bereaved families of individuals whose gambling led to their deaths. These firms will be increasingly poised to strike when operators slip up.
It goes without saying that operators must do everything they can to prevent such harm from occurring in the first place, but they must also be alert to the commercial risks that an increasingly litigious climate around the industry poses.
Meanwhile, of course, gambling execs are also getting in on the action. This week, we learned that former Entain executives Lee Feldman and Kenny Alexander had filed a lawsuit against the Gambling Commission concerning what they believe to have been a reputationally damaging press release it published in 2023.
However you look at it, gambling appears set to become ever more profitable for lawyers.