Raffaela Zillner, LL.M to join European Gaming Congress (EGC 2018) Ljubljana, Austrian market update
Written by Editorial Board
The inaugural edition of European Gaming Congress will be held on the 16th of October at the Grand Union Hotel in Ljubljana and it’s the latest conference the team at European Gaming Media and Events are putting together.
The event is expected to bring together industry expert from all over Europe and create a platform which will enable both networking and learning at the highest quality.
As the event will touch base about many important updates coming from European jurisdictions, one of the subjects of the first panel discussion is the Austria gambling market.
The Austrian gaming market grew by 4 per cent and the revenues touched the €1.675 billion mark in 2017. These are impressive figures, but internationally licensed operators account for 65 per cent of the segment’s revenue.
According to Andreas Kreutzer, of the Kreutzer Fischer & Partner consultancy, online gambling, fuelled by international websites, grew by 11 per cent anyway and had the largest share of the growth.
It is not a positive news for Win2Day brand, the only locally approved online operator. The Austrian government needs to update laws to implement a proper taxation regime on the segment.
The OVWG called forth that a new regulation with a licensing procedure is urgently needed in Austria, but that 50 million and more than 1,000 qualified jobs are at risk with the planned revision. Game and betting stakes have increased by around 10 percent in the last two years, while the online market increased 25 percent in 2016.
While the BMF argues in its draft that player protection is a top priority, the OVWG said that the argument to justify the market exclusion of unlicensed reputable providers does not apply because some already have valid EU licenses, therefore they meet high standards in terms of player protection.
You may have gotten used to bad news coming about the Austrian gambling market when it comes to licensing, but Dr. Raffaela Zillner, LL.M is hoping to bring some positive news to EGC this fall.