Judges in Almelo have ordered two online gambling companies to reimburse two punters for their losses, because they don’t have a licence to operate in the Netherlands.

It is the first time a Dutch court has ordered an unlicenced company to hand money back to players. In each case the player had lost around €200,000 and the ruling, lawyer Benzi Loonstein told reporters, is “ground-breaking”.

Bwin and PokerStars admit they did not have a licence to offer online gambling in the Netherlands but said that breaking the rules did not mean the agreement they had with the two customers is invalid.

But the court disagreed, saying the agreement is void and ordering the gambling firms to pay back the money.

The Netherlands legalised online gambling in October 2021 in a move that addiction experts now say has had a “devastating effect”. In total, 27 companies offering 37 different labels now have a licence to operate.