Slots Logic reviews and rates the world's top online slots.
Visit Casino Advisor for the best online casino reviews, news and much more.
|
On 16th of June a new amendment to the Austrian gambling Law was adopted by the parliament.
After nearly two years of delays and discussions about the details and quality of the draft, it was hastily approved by a majority of four of the five political parties, because of the feared judgment of the ECJ in the Austrian „Engelmann“ case, C-64/08.
It is expected that the court in Luxembourg will decide, that the extension, without public tender, of the six Austrian Casino licences in January 1998, the extension of the other six Casino licences in January 2001, as well as the issue of the Lottery licence (six of 45, Toto, Bingo, Scratchcards etc.) and its licence extensions, for winwin, win2day, tipp3, by simple rulings of the Ministry of Finance in October 1997, was unlawful.
Therefore all those licences could soon be subject to EU wide public tender, which to the annoyance of the local parties, inevitably has to be done in accordance to the relevant EU regulations.
Since April, the new 2010 part of the amendment is in Brussels awaiting notification from the TRIS. The standstill period expires on 16th of July 2010. However, small, last-minute, changes, in the 2010 part of the gambling law enacted last month might influence the validity of the version presented to TRIS.
The effect of the new law, which will become effective 1st of January 2011, will be the destruction of about 95% of the existing concessionaires and operating companies (over 1300 mostly small and very small companies with over 10,000 people expecting unemployment) in Austria within the next three to four years in favour of approximately 15 to 20 new concessionaires under excessive rules and regulations.
For instance the new rules dictate that any company applying for one of the new licences may not have an owner with more than a 25 % share in the company.
A last minute intiative, which illogically compares AWPs with a one Euro stake to casino slots with a Euros90 stake has resulted in the government planning to introduce a players card, which fully identifies the player and allows limits to be set for spending money on gambling machines and VLTs in Austria. This will be introduced into both single sites and casinos within one year.
In Austria currently there is a state monopoly for Casinos and Lotteries. Only two private companies are privileged to hold respective monopoly concessions and operate approximately 1800 machines without limits on stake and wins. An exemption of the Federal Gambling Law Monopoly allows private operators to operate gambling machines, if the maximum stake is € 0.50 and the maximum win does not exceed € 20.- . There are no further requirements or details like game definitions, technical or time limits, etc.
However this so called “Kleine Glücksspiel” – like AWPs - is only allowed in four of the nine Austrian counties. The county governments can impose further restrictions, like in Carinthia, where such gambling machines must be approved and tested for a minimum payout of 85 % and a game must last five seconds.
The following counties allow the operation of Austrian type AWPs for players above the age of 18 (box out)
Vienna : a relatively steady number of aprx. 3400 machines and an exceptionally high tax to be paid monthly in advance. Maximum number of machines per site is 2, except in the two specially designated areas for gambling arcades, the Prater and the Böhmische Prater.
Styria : a little more than 3000 machines are operating, while aprx. 4700 licenses were issued. There is a higher number of licenses, because this way you can block the site against any more competition moving in. A moderate tax has to be paid monthly.
Carinthia : More than 800 machines are operated under a quite strict regime and with regular controls. A less moderate tax is paid monthly.
Lower Austria : There are only gambling arcades allowed with a minimum of 15 machines and strict entry controls for identification and counting the number of visits. There are more than 800 machines in operation and 12.000 such entry control cards were issued so far. The paid in security deposit per arcade must be € 4 million and the tax per machine raises to a higher level in the second year of operation and even higher in the third year.
There are isolated reports of unspecified numbers of illegal gambling machines operated in all the other counties, but the number of convictions for breach of the gambling law was only 18 in 2005 and 17 in 2006 for all Austria. Numbers of any administrative actions on district level are not available. Since 2007/2008 large numbers of so called internet terminals are also operated as gambling machines within the 50 cent/20.-€ exception of the monopoly, mainly, but not only, in the counties with AWP gambling prohibition.
While the private company Casinos Austria AG operates 12 casinos in the country, there are allegedly about 80 to 90 casinos and gambling arcades directly operating successfully since many years along the Austrian border with parking spaces full of Austrian cars and more such casinos are planned.
However it is reported that Austrians nevertheless are already spending four times more money per head for gambling on the internet as the Germans for instance. Of course it is prohibited by law to gamble on the internet, but nobody cares, because it cannot be controlled.
Anonymous payment cards that can be bought at any post office, many shops and other locations have been available for nearly ten years. There are also debit cards, readily available over the counter of some banks, that cannot be controlled properly.
Responsible gambling in the AWP business has a long tradition in Austria, but pathological gamblers are often misused by politicians and some organisations for their political campaigns. Automatenverband.at received data, which shows, that there are probably more psychologists and psychotherapists than gambling machines in Austria!
So far the government, our politicians and public servants, have clearly failed to regulate the gambling business in Austria successfully against worldwide competition and the existing needs of the population. It needs to be seen, if the expected new legislation will be able to regulate an industry and business, which thrives on the latest innovations and the fast implementation of the same or if the player’s money will keep ending up in the tax free Caribbean, where gamblers are tempted to gamble with certified payouts of 97 and 98 % and only any problems will remain in Austria.
Jukeboxes are popular in Austria – particularly the Max Fire digital jukebox from domestic specialist TAB Austria. Vienna is a particularly good market for music, as there are many pubs and restaurants. Normally Viennese classic songs and Austrian pop music songs are top of the Max Fire Jukebox´s playlist in such locations. Coffeehouses (Kaffeehäuser) have also a strong tradition in Austria and these often house entertainment machines.
TAB Austria’s Fun4Four is already well established in the Austrian market because of its rich variety of games (skill, trivia, cards. strategy). The multigame table for up to 4 players is a perfect solution for any location. The design and high-quality graphics highlights its diversity. Fun4Four is height-adjustable and is therefore very flexible for all locations.
Comment from sponsor
Designed to make a difference: Today’s ideas for tomorrow’s world
As one of the world’s leading suppliers of entertainment electronics, TAB-Austria is dedicated to the researching and development of pioneering products for the entertainment and gaming industry, that are ahead of their time in design, technology and equipment – because we are setting trends instead of following them.
We pay particular attention to our customer’s needs and requirements, because the customer’s satisfaction comes first for us. “Better games through innovation” – this is what we identify with and what has brought us to the top of the market. We toss the dice for you!
TAB-Austria, based in Ansfelden near Linz in Upper Austria, was founded in 1962 in Traun, has an export rate of over 98.5% and works with distributors in more than 40 countries around the world. With the brands SILVERBALL, MAX FIRE Jukebox, the multi-game table FUN4FOUR and the GOLDEN ISLAND gaming platform, TAB-Austria is one of the market leaders in touch-screen terminals in the entertainment and gaming sector.
