A Curaçao court has ruled that a former master license holder is responsible for its sub-licensee’s mirror sites.
The Court of First Instance of Curaçao has ordered Black Hawk Technology BV and Gaming Services Provider NV (GSP) to release transaction records. They must also release communication logs of a player struggling with gambling addiction.
They published the 10 September judgment recently. It stems from a claim brought by the Foundation for the Representation of the Interests of Victims of Online Gambling (SGBOK). This represents a player who repeatedly lost money on the online casino bk8sgs.com in spite attempting to self-exclude.
Court documents reveal that the player requested a five-year self-exclusion period in September 2023 because of gambling addiction, explicitly saying: “I want to self exclude… I want a request a 5 years of self-exclusion.”
The casino allegedly reopened his account just weeks later when he asked to return, in spite clear request.
During proceedings, GSP attempted to distance itself from the case. It claimed that the website was a mirror site. A mirror site is an identical copy of an existing website hosted on a different server. It also stated that the site wasn’t operated under its license.
Nevertheless, noting that the casino displayed license of GSP information on its website, the court rejected this defense.
Judge Bijkerk ruled that both companies must provide copies of the player’s complete betting history. They must also release all chat correspondence from May to December 2023.
He wrote: Since GSP, as the first license holder, must comply with the license conditions, including storing all chat correspondence between the casinos and players, the court will also order GSP to surrender.
The defendants have one week to comply with the order of face financial penalties.
On August 18, master license of GSP expired as part of the gambling reform process of the island. Yet, the court said this doesn’t affect the ruling as the issue happened prior to this date.
