Cologne (dpa / lnw) - The Cologne Higher Regional Court has sentenced the operator of an online poker platform to refund the stakes to an unlucky player. The man had gambled away almost 60,000 euros in the online casino.

He later sued for repayment and was now successful in the second instance: Because online gambling is prohibited in Germany, with the exception of Schleswig-Holstein, the plaintiff has a right to a refund, the court decided, according to a notification on Monday (Az. 19 U 51/ 22).

The gaming contract concluded between the online casino and the player was void from the start due to a violation of the online gambling ban. The German-language website and the German-language customer service would have given the appearance of legality. As a legal layman, the plaintiff did not have to recognize that the offer was illegal.

The judgment is not yet final. However, the Senate did not allow the revision.