G3 MARKET INSIGHT AUSTRIA
Austria’s
sportsbook dilemma
Is “No-Win, No-Fee” a safe bet?
European sportsbook operators have a
brewing dilemma in Austria that not only risks the estimated €300m in annual
revenues from the Austrian online market, but potentially jeopardises much more
lucrative opportunities in markets such as Germany and Holland.
The story has thus far been contained within national borders, but as television coverage spreads the issue to all corners of the country, keeping a lid on the issue is becoming increasingly complicated and costly.
In essence, online sportsbooks in Austria have been operating outside of their legal remit by offering casino games in addition to sports bets. Austria maintains a monopoly over online gaming, with win2day, a subsidiary of Casinos Austria, the only operator with a licence to offer such games in the country. However, operators with licences in Malta, Gibraltar, the UK etc., have offered games of chance in addition to sports bets provided to punters on their websites.
An uneasy truce has existed for many years in which online operators claim legality based on the Freedom of Services Act granted by European law, while the Austrian Ministry of Finance rejects such claims, but continues to gather taxes from the activity. The Ministry declares all such operators to be illegal, but since it’s unable to block or remove foreign casino operators from the web, the Ministry resigns itself to collecting taxes from illegal operations.
In 2020, 37 unlicensed operators received demands for gaming tax totalling around €50m, with 27 of the operators dutifully transferring €45m to the Austrian treasury. This status quo, however, is being tested by private individuals supported by ‘no-win, no- fee’ legal teams claiming that losses as a result of online gaming activity in Austria are not only illegal (which is undisputed), but more importantly – recoverable.
High profile cases are beginning to penetrate the public consciousness with numerous legal firms in Austria calling upon players with excessive losses to come forward and claim back their money. Vienna-based litigation firm, Advofin, takes 37 per cent of amounts claimed, but covers all costs if the claim is rejected. Such a business model has begun to snowball the
number of claims being made, with Advofin currently pursuing 1,500 claims against 30 online operators for a combined total of €32m. To date, Advofin has a 100 per cent case record, winning each of the 40 cases heard thus far, with €1.5m paid back to players. However, this is thought to be only a fraction of the sums paid in out- of-court settlements.
The cases have been heard in both the lower and higher courts in Austria and in every case the claimants have won.
The escalation of claims and the publicity being drawn to the issue has unnerved operators, with sports betting giant Tipico, the main sponsor of the Austrian Football Bundesliga, informing customers that, as of February 1, its Tipico casino would be permanently closed for Austrian residents. The risk is
P22 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122
