Austria examines gambling monopoly

The Constitutional Court was asked to determine if the industry violates a constitutional law.

Austria.- According to a review from Mondaq, The Austrian Constitutional Court determined that the gambling monopoly doesn’t violate an article that establishes the freedom to provide services in the country.

The Court established that based on a case from the European Court of Justice, the gambling monopoly could represent a restriction when it comes to providing services in Austria, but then said that the concessionaires that were under the microscope didn’t infringe the law. Casinos Austria AG and Österreichische Lotterien GmbH are two licensees that according to the Supreme Court, advertise regularly the gambling services, therefore local citizens don’t have the freedom that they should when it comes to picking services.

The Constitutional Court said that the extremely low growth that the gambling industry has had in the last couple of years is proof that the concessionaires don’t violate the EU law. Mondaq said that a repeal would’ve presented several consequences on the tax system for gaming providers, and that there is still a chance that the monopoly could be defeated, since there are other cases pending in the Constitutional Court that will be reviewed later this year.