Action for payment of a gambling debt

Law no. 1.498 of 1 December 2020 on the legal exception of gambling debts and creating an article 1805-1 in the Civil Code (Journal de Monaco no. 8516 of 11 December 2020) stems from bill no. 1019 passed by the National Council on 25 November 2020.

Article 1805-1 of the Civil Code enables action to be taken to recover debts relating to games operated by a person legally authorised to establish or run a gaming house, exclusively.

The legal provisions are retroactive. Not only debts incurred after the law came into force, but also debts incurred within the 5-year limitation period set out in article 2044 of the Civil Code may be recovered through the courts.

Finance companies and credit institutions [1] may therefore take action for payment of a debit balance on an account or repayment of a loan, even when the sums have been used for the purposes of gambling operated by the casinos.

Similarly, the Société des Bains de Mer can sue "for payment of unfunded cheques issued by a player in exchange for casino chips, but also (...) for repayment of advances granted by its subsidiary company [2], MC Finances Compagnie [3].

* * *

NOTES:

[1] The terminology is borrowed from French Ordinance No 2013-544 of 27 June 2013 on credit institutions and finance companies, which enshrined the status of finance company as distinct from the status of credit institution. Commission des Finances et de l'Economie Nationale, Rapport sur le projet de loi n° 1019, 20 November 2020, p. 5.

[2] Commission des Finances et de l'Economie Nationale, Rapport sur le projet de loi n° 1019, 20 November 2020, p. 3.

[3] Formerly Société Financière et d'Encaissement.