A Curaçao court has mandated that the brand SmokeAce pay a player €495,454 in a dispute regarding a no-deposit bonus of €110.
The first-instance court in Curaçao ruled on February 23 that Altacore N.V., the operator of the online casino SmokeAce, must compensate a local resident. The player registered on the casino's website in March 2024 and received a no-deposit bonus of €110 with a wagering requirement of x30 a month later.
After fulfilling the wagering requirements, the player submitted three withdrawal requests of €1,000 each on April 19, 2024, and continued playing the slot Gates of Olympus (Pragmatic Play), where his balance reached €495,000. Subsequently, SmokeAce froze his account and funds, claiming that the maximum win from the bonus was limited to five times the amount (€550).
The court found the bonus conditions to be opaque, as they were not available for download, and archived versions of the website showed that their content had changed multiple times. According to the player, the slot Gates of Olympus was not included in the list of games eligible for wagering the bonus, meaning he had already used his own funds at that point.
The operator's argument that the client should have withdrawn €550 first and then re-deposited was also deemed illogical by the court. SmokeAce further accused the player of multi-accounting; however, the court dismissed this argument as it pertained to accounts on other brands operated by the company.
Soon after the court's decision, the brands of Altacore N.V. were re-registered under Fortuna Games N.V., which is serviced by the same trust office, SMES. The player's lawyer suspects Altacore N.V. of attempting to evade payment and has requested an investigation from the CGA.