During the initial six months of 2023, Austrian officials imposed €2.8 million (£2.3 million/$3 million) in penalties for breaches of the nation’s gaming rules. This signifies a twofold increase in the penalties levied in the first half of 2022, which totaled €1.4 million.
Throughout the entire six-month period of criminal probes, law enforcement officers levied a total of €11.2 million in fines. This indicates that gambling penalties constituted a quarter of the overall fines imposed during the same timeframe.
Austrian Finance Minister Magnus Brunner stated: “The financial police’s oversight measures against social deception, the informal economy, tax evasion, and illicit gambling are focused and guarantee a level playing field.”
“This is how we safeguard honest enterprises, secure tax revenue, and bolster our business location.”
Austrian financial police observed that 265 gambling devices were seized during this period, a 10.4% increase compared to the first half of 2022.
One of these recovery operations occurred in Salzburg, where police confiscated 76 illicit gambling machines in multiple raids.
In the initial three months of this year, financial police levied €492,000 in penalties.
Austria’s plans to re-regulate the gambling sector are scheduled to resume.
While Austria revealed a plan to revamp its gambling regulations in 2021, the nation has persisted in enforcing its existing gambling rules. In February 2021, the then-Finance Minister, Gernot Blümel, presented proposals to establish a new regulatory body and implement stringent control measures, including betting and deposit limitations, along with enhanced enforcement authority.
These regulatory adjustments were put forward in response to scrutiny surrounding Austria’s casino monopoly, which reached its zenith in 2019 when the operator became embroiled in a political controversy.
Austria’s casino monopoly encompasses casino, poker, lottery, and bingo operations. This exclusive right is scheduled to remain in effect until 2027. However, the European Court of Justice has determined that the monopoly is incompatible with EU legislation.
Despite this ruling, the proposed changes appear to have encountered delays in subsequent years.