Austrian gamblers can hope to win at no fewer than 832 gambling sites on the internet. They are available from us, but are actually illegal except for one provider. The domestic industry has now raised this issue for the first time. Regulations should curb these black sheep in the future.
It is estimated that the turnover of providers will already reach 500 million euros this year. The largest of these are stake.com, lottohelden.com, lottoland.at and platincasino.com. These four alone are expected to account for approximately 20 percent of sales.
But with the exception of win2day from Casinos Austria, all gambling companies in our country are illegal because there is only one license for them in law.
The Republic is missing out on millions in tax revenue
While the monopolist or provider with licenses from other European countries pay 40 percent tax on their gaming revenue (gross gaming revenue) in Austria, the illegal providers from third countries collect their Austrian turnover tax-free. As a result, the republic is missing out on tax revenues of around 200 million euros per year, says an industry representative.
And he notes that these are conservative estimates. Reason: The black market in particular is played by people who may exhibit problematic gambling behavior and therefore play for relatively more money than if they were to play with well-known, licensed providers who adhere to extensive player protection rules.
Some like Entain (bwin) still pay us millions in taxes. They therefore want regulations to stop gambling platforms from Asia, the Caribbean and other tax havens. As in almost all other European countries, control via licenses is necessary. Finland also wants to liberalize and regulate the market in this way by 2025.
Austria as a latecomer to Europe
Only in Austria does the old system with a state-protected monopolist exist, although win2day via Casinos Austria has been largely owned by a Czech gambling billionaire for years. It is said that a multi-license tender with strict conditions would improve player protection compared to the now large black market, as people addicted to gambling could be blocked via a common block list. There would also be legal certainty for providers who are constantly faced with lawsuits from failed gamblers who want their lost money back through expert lawyers – often with success.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
