A Huge Win from a No-Deposit Bonus: How a Player Won €495,000 from SmokeAce in Court
A Huge Win from a No-Deposit Bonus: How a Player Won €495,000 from SmokeAce in Court
A court in Curaçao delivered a high-profile ruling ordering an online casino operator to pay a client a massive sum. According to reports from CasinoNieuws, on February 23 the court ruled that Altacore N.V., which owns the SmokeAce casino brand, must pay €495,454 to a local resident. The case could become an important precedent in the gambling industry.
The story began in spring 2024. The player registered on the SmokeAce platform in March and a month later received a €110 no-deposit bonus with a 30× wagering requirement. By April 19, the user had successfully met the wagering conditions, submitted three withdrawal requests of €1,000 each, and continued playing. The major breakthrough happened on the popular slot Gates of Olympus from provider Pragmatic Play. Notably, this slot was not included in the list of games eligible for bonus wagering, meaning the gambler was spinning the reels using his legitimately won real money.
When the player’s balance reached an astonishing €495,000, the SmokeAce administration reacted in a typical way for such situations: the account was immediately frozen along with all the funds. The casino justified the decision by referring to internal rules stating that the maximum payout from a no-deposit bonus cannot exceed five times its value (in this case, €550).
However, the court sided with the player. During the proceedings, it became clear that the casino’s user agreement was highly non-transparent. The document could not even be downloaded, and checks through web archives showed that the operator regularly edited the rules retroactively. The casino’s argument that the player should have first withdrawn the allowed €550, then redeposited it to continue playing, was described by the judge as completely illogical and absurd.
In an attempt to salvage the situation, SmokeAce accused the winner of multi-accounting. This claim also collapsed in court: the fact that the player had accounts on other platforms belonging to the Altacore network did not violate the rules of the SmokeAce casino itself.
📌 Important note: The operator may not be ready to give up just yet. Immediately after the court verdict was announced, all brands owned by Altacore N.V. were urgently transferred to another legal entity, Fortuna Games N.V.. Interestingly, the new company is serviced by the same trust office, SMES Trust Fund. Lawyers representing the player suspect the operator of attempting a fraudulent bankruptcy scheme to avoid paying the large court-ordered sum. The attorney has already submitted an official request to the Curaçao Gaming Authority to initiate a full-scale investigation.
Fin_Player_8Mar 17, 2026That’s insane! Half a million euros from a tiny €110 no-deposit bonus! The guy basically hacked the Matrix in Olympus… Respect for taking it all the way to court!
Stas_the_ManMar 18, 2026No way they’ll actually pay him that money, let’s be real. Altacore will just declare bankruptcy, move the assets to a new company (which they’ve already done, lol), and disappear. Classic offshore casino scheme. The lawyer did a good job, but the chances of squeezing half a million out of them are zero.
