Illegal Gambling on the Rise in Austria

Article by : Erik Gibbs Aug 4, 2023

• 
• 

Based on how busy the Austrian police have been this year, illegal gambling appears to be on the rise in the country. In the first half of the year, the number of criminal complaints jumped significantly compared to the same period last year.

Conducting more than 13,000 labor market checks, Austria’s Financial Police, a division of the Ministry of Finance, recorded 16% more violations than a year ago. Around €11.2 million (US$12.25 million in penalties were issued, and the financial police collected around €8.7 million (US$9.52 million) in unpaid taxes and penalties.

The tax officials also recorded significantly more cases of undeclared work. After 1,265 criminal complaints in the same period last year, there were 1,515 applications this year. The financial police also registered a significant increase in illegal employment of foreigners – 1,331 complaints in the first half of 2022; 1,796 so far this year.

In the initial six months of the year, Austrian gambling laws were flouted extensively, resulting in €2.8 million (US$3.06 million) in fines issued by the Financial Police. This penalty surpasses last year’s €1.4 million (US$1.53 million) euros fine by almost 100%.

Furthermore, gambling offenses contribute around 25% of all fines imposed by the financial police. They were responsible for almost all of the €11.2 million in fines issued.

Numerous penalties were delivered following an assault on underground gambling rooms. Across the first half of the year, law enforcement successfully confiscated a total of 265 unlawful slot machines, showing a surge of 10.4% compared to 2022. In one targeted operation in Salzburg during April, the authorities confiscated 72 contraband slot machines, all found in seven distinct establishments.

Magnus Brunner, Austria’s Finance Minister, affirmed that authorities are actively probing financial trails in their battle against societal deception, well-structured underground black markets, fraudulent tax evasion and unauthorized betting activities. He explained in a statement that ensuring fairness and equal opportunities while not favoring any particular group is how the Ministry plans on upholding integrity in commerce, simultaneously reducing tax burdens and fortifying the country’s business foundation.

Despite the approval of Austria’s gambling regulatory plans in 2021, the lack of advancement in the implementation has prompted criticism concerning the nation’s casino license. Casinos Austria still has a monopoly in the country, and there’s no clear guidance on when the market might expand.

Intensive investigations into organized and commercial tax evasion, for example, via bogus companies, also proved successful during the myriad of investigations. This year, for example, the financial police issued 2,543 criminal complaints, compared to 2,294 in the same period last year.