Sports betting operator Parimatch has been ordered to pay $19,630 after unjustly confiscating a player’s account balance without being able to prove a violation. The ruling, which took place on March 13, 2023, was confirmed by the Court of First Instance of Curaçao yesterday.
Parimatch Had Failed to Prove a Penalized Player Had Violated Its Rules
On September 1, the Court of First Instance of Curaçao published its verdict on an older case involving a bettor whose funds had been confiscated. The original incident dates to 2021 when Parimatch took a player’s account balance after suspecting fraud.
According to Parimatch, the player in question had violated its policy, which states that players should not have multiple accounts.
However, the court deemed that Parimatch had failed to properly communicate its terms and conditions to its players. Additionally, the court ruled that the operator had failed to present convincing evidence that the player had committed the purported violation.
As it turned out, Parimatch detected the player gambling from multiple IP addresses. The plaintiff, SBGOK, a foundation for the representation of victims of online gaming, pointed out that this was due to Belarus’ dynamic IP addresses.
As a result, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, saying that Parimatch should not have confiscated his funds. The operator and the former master license holder, Cyberluck, will have to pay $19,630, as well as 15% extrajudicial costs and statutory interest from June 22, 2021.
Parimatch Closed Another Case, Signed Deal with Manchester
Earlier this year, the England and Wales High Court sided with Parimatch in a heated trademark battle against Abudantia. The latter company had initiated legal proceedings against Fastron and Rillius, two businesses related to Parimatch. Abudantia implied that Parimatch had unjustly ended a trademark deal for an online gambling platform.
In the end, the court ruled in Parimatch’s favor but reprimanded the operator for allegedly fabricating evidence to back up its claim.
On a more positive note, Parimatch just became the Official Betting Partner of Manchester United, one of Britain’s top soccer clubs. The deal focuses on the Asia and MENA regions, where Parimatch’s logo will appear on the athletes’ jerseys. At the same time, the gaming company’s logo will feature on Manchester United’s LED boards at its home stadium, Old Trafford.
Despite Britain’s upcoming changes that will prohibit professional athletes from featuring operators’ logos on the front of their jerseys, over half of the Premier League clubs still maintain ties with gambling companies.
