- MyStake voided €239,000 of a Spanish player’s €246,500 in winnings, citing a €20 maximum-stake rule.
- A Curacao court ordered full payment in March 2025, plus interest, legal costs and €4,500 in expenses.
- Operator Santeda International appealed rather than pay, and a ruling was due Tuesday in Willemstad.
- The same sum staked €20 a hand on Banker would cost a player about €2,600 at baccarat’s 1.06% edge.
WILLEMSTAD, Curacao – A Curacao appeals court was scheduled to rule Tuesday on whether MyStake can keep €239,000 it stripped from a Spanish player’s account, after the offshore casino argued the winnings were void because he had staked more than the €20 maximum written into its terms.
The Clause Did The Work, Not The Odds
MyStake confiscated €246,500 of the player’s winnings and left him €7,500, on the reading that every stake above €20 breached its terms. The Court of First Instance in Willemstad rejected that on March 31, 2025, ordering the operator to pay the winnings in full with statutory interest, the player’s legal costs and a further €4,500 in associated expenses. The judge leaned on a separate line in the operator’s own terms, one that expressly permits players to adjust their stakes.
Santeda International, the group behind MyStake and the GoldenBet, DonBet and Rolletto brands, appealed rather than pay. The Spanish player’s claim is the last live one of about 25 filed against the group in Curacao over withheld payouts, industry outlet NEXT.io reported. The rest settled for fractions of what was claimed, and he has turned down every approach that valued his winnings below 72.5% of the total.
What €246,500 Is Worth To A Baccarat Table
The honest part of a casino’s arithmetic is small and published. Banker wins 45.86% of baccarat hands, Player wins 44.62% and 9.52% end in a tie. Banker pays even money less a 5% commission, and that commission is the entire gap between what the bet wins and what it pays, which is why Banker carries a 1.06% house edge and is the best price on the layout.
Put that same €246,500 across a €20 table and it buys about 12,300 hands of Banker, on which the house expects to keep roughly €2,600. One clause in a contract moved close to 90 times that in a single account review. A player can work out the baccarat odds in advance. The terms sheet is where this money actually went.
Why Stake Caps Bite Bonus Players Hardest
A maximum-stake clause is standard boilerplate behind baccarat bonuses, and this case shows what one can do. The cap did not stop the bets when they were placed. It was applied afterward, on a review of the account, which is what turns a betting limit into a confiscation lever.
Table players carry that risk twice over. Baccarat counts for only a fraction of a rollover where it counts at all, so clearing an offer demands far more turnover than a slots player needs, while a per-hand cap holds every one of those hands small. That squeeze is the arithmetic behind baccarat bonus wagering requirements, and it is why the stake cap, not the headline match, sets what an offer is actually worth.
What Happens Next
If the appeal fails, the March 2025 judgment stands and Santeda owes the winnings in full, plus interest, costs and the €4,500 in expenses. A second loss would leave the group facing a Curacao judgment it has so far declined to pay, and continued non-payment could reach its offshore licence.
