A Netherlands court has ruled against a BetCity employee who colluded with players to drain hundreds of thousands from the operator through systematic abuse of customer support tools. The Amsterdam District Court dismissed claims of inadequate oversight and found the fraud was deliberate and coordinated.

Employee Issued Nearly €600K in Unauthorised Credits

The case centred on an employee at BetEnt, the Entain-owned operator behind BetCity. Customer service staff are authorised to issue compensation credits of up to €232 to players experiencing technical issues or service problems. Standard practice across the industry.

This employee took that authority and ran wild with it.

Over an undisclosed period, they issued €575,000 in free bets across four player accounts. That’s not a typo. More than half a million euros in credits that should never have been approved.

The players turned those free bets into €410,000 in actual winnings, bringing their total haul to €465,000 when combined with the original credits.

Defence Claims Fall Flat

BetCity brought action against both the employee and one of the players, alleging they were working together to exploit the system. The defence attempted to shift blame onto the operator, arguing inadequate internal controls allowed the fraud to occur.

The court wasn’t buying it. Judges determined the employee had deliberately circumvented fraud detection systems and that this was coordinated deception, not opportunistic exploitation of a gap in procedures. The ruling found clear breach of contract on the employee’s part and rejected any suggestion that employer negligence diminished their responsibility.

Substantial Repayment Ordered

The employee now faces repayment of €96,000 and €69,500 tied to specific winnings. They also share €85,000 in joint liability with the named player defendant.

Both defendants will cover legal costs as well.

The case highlights ongoing challenges operators face with internal fraud. Customer service staff need discretion to resolve genuine issues quickly, but that same authority creates vulnerability when misused. Most operators run multiple verification layers for big credit approvals, though determined insiders can sometimes find workarounds.

For BetCity, this is a major recovery, though likely still short of the full amount extracted. The court’s firm stance sends a clear message about accountability in cases where employees abuse trusted positions.

What the team thinks

Sheena McAllister says:

This case perfectly illustrates why robust internal controls and segregation of duties aren’t just regulatory tick boxes, they’re essential fraud prevention tools. The UKGC’s emphasis on internal controls in LCCP provisions 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 exists precisely to prevent this type of insider abuse, and operators should view this Dutch ruling as a reminder that compliance frameworks protecting customer funds also protect the business itself. Regular audits of customer service permissions and transaction monitoring thresholds would have likely flagged this pattern long before it reached €600K.