Illegal Gambling on the Rise in Austria

The Austrian Financial Police have carried out a total of 278 inspections on suspected black market gambling venues since January, resulting in the confiscation of over 660 gaming machines. Over half of the seized machines were found in Vienna, the capital city of Austria.

In a statement issued on July 28, Austria’s financial police set out the progress it has made this year towards a reduction in illegal gambling in the country. It made clear that the majority of illegal gambling activity is taking place in larger urban centres such as Vienna and Linz.

In rural areas, illegal gambling has been largely reduced – for example, in the states of Burgenland, Styria and Vorarlberg combined, only two devices have been found since January.

“I congratulate the colleagues from the financial police on these remarkable successes. Illegal gambling is now concentrated in the metropolitan areas and – thanks to the excellent work of the financial police – is no longer active across the country,” Austria’s finance minister Gernot Blümel said.

“The fight against organised illegal gambling will of course continue to protect players. The ‘gambling mafia’ benefits from peoples addiction and destroys their finances, so we must show absolutely no tolerance here,” he added.

Finance minister Blümel called this year for the creation of an independent gambling regulator for Austria, taking responsibility for the activity away from the treasury.