Austrian prosecutors raided addresses linked to the nationalist Freedom Party's former Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache and the head of gambling company Novomatic on suspicions of graft and corruption.
The probe centers on the appointment of Freedom Party's Peter Sidlo to the management board of Casinos Austria, a lottery and casino operator in which the Austrian government and Novomatic own stakes, a Casinos Austria spokesman said, confirming a report in Austrian newspaper Der Standard. Casinos Austria isn't a target of the probe, he said.
Investigators are looking into whether Strache, former junior Finance Minister Hubert Fuchs, and others pledged to change laws in return for Novomatic backing the appointment at Casinos Austria, Der Standard said.
A spokesman for the white-collar prosecutors' office in Vienna confirmed that raids took place Monday in relation to a graft investigation. The prosecutors suspect six individuals and one gambling company, he said. He declined to elaborate, citing the confidentiality of the investigation.
Novomatic Chief Executive Officer Harald Neumann and owner Johann Graf are among those being probed, Der Standard said. A spokesman for Novomatic declined to comment.
Strache said on his Facebook page the allegations were unfounded and were a political attack. Sidlo didn't immediately return an email seeking comment. He was also appointed to the Austrian central bank's supervisory board by the Freedom Party last year. The Freedom Party said the probe didn't involve its current leadership.
Strache resigned as vice chancellor and Freedom Party Chairman in May, following the release of a video in which he was shown promising state contracts for cash to a woman claiming to be a Russian oligarch's niece and plotting the takeover of Austria's largest newspaper. He also mentioned Novomatic as a donor in the video, a claim Novomatic has denied.
Conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who had governed in a coalition with the Freedom Party, was toppled a few days later, and Austria will now have an election Sept. 29.
Showing posts with label Austria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Austria. Show all posts
August 15, 2019
March 01, 2016
Former Bwin execs face bribery charges
Several reports in Europe are naming both bwin founders Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger in potential forthcoming charges by prosecutors in Austria for bribery regarding a 2007 application for a sports betting license in Turkey.
According to reports both men while working for bwin are guilty of paying a €2.25 million incentive in order to bribe Turkish officials.
Bodner and Teufelberger are set to face charges imposed by Austrian law courts with regards to bribery, corruption, money laundering and breach of trust attached to national business standards.
TREND an Austrian news source is saying that charges relate to Bwin’s attempts to gain a Turkish sports betting license in 2007. The company is reported to have hired several lobbyist to help with its application.
The license in question was granted at the time but then revoked by the Turkish government and the €2.25 million payment was written off by Bwin.
Legal representatives of Bodner and Teufelberger have moved to dismiss the charges, stating that the allegations were “without merit”. Both of the execs were “fully confident” that the courts would side with them “in due course.”
According to reports both men while working for bwin are guilty of paying a €2.25 million incentive in order to bribe Turkish officials.
Bodner and Teufelberger are set to face charges imposed by Austrian law courts with regards to bribery, corruption, money laundering and breach of trust attached to national business standards.
TREND an Austrian news source is saying that charges relate to Bwin’s attempts to gain a Turkish sports betting license in 2007. The company is reported to have hired several lobbyist to help with its application.
The license in question was granted at the time but then revoked by the Turkish government and the €2.25 million payment was written off by Bwin.
Legal representatives of Bodner and Teufelberger have moved to dismiss the charges, stating that the allegations were “without merit”. Both of the execs were “fully confident” that the courts would side with them “in due course.”
June 10, 2015
Austrian government to ban poker outside casinos
The Austrian government will ban all forms of poker games from outside of licensed casinos from 2020 it said in a statement, however Casinos Austria wanted the ban to be enforced as early as 2017 but has welcomed the new measures
In the statement the government plan to limit poker to licensed casino operators or electronic lotteries like win2day and WINWIN machine operators.
The law will allow for poker games to be played in pubs across the country but with limits such as a maximum of 100 players who pay €10 or less and those tournaments in pubs can only be held once in each quarter of the year. The new ruling will mean clubs such as the Concord Card Casinos will be outlawed which is welcomed by Casinos Austria and the casino giant also called for stricter prosecution laws for those who continue to ignore the new rules when they become law.
In the statement the government plan to limit poker to licensed casino operators or electronic lotteries like win2day and WINWIN machine operators.
The law will allow for poker games to be played in pubs across the country but with limits such as a maximum of 100 players who pay €10 or less and those tournaments in pubs can only be held once in each quarter of the year. The new ruling will mean clubs such as the Concord Card Casinos will be outlawed which is welcomed by Casinos Austria and the casino giant also called for stricter prosecution laws for those who continue to ignore the new rules when they become law.
April 16, 2014
Austrian match fixing players charged
Former footballers Dominique Taboga, Sanel Kuljic and ‘several other people’ have been charged in connection with the Austrian match-fixing scandal which came to light last year, state prosecutors said on Monday. Reuters reported that prosecutors in Graz said that they would not give any further details for the time being while investigations continued.
Taboga was initially hailed as a whistle-blower when he claimed he was being blackmailed to manipulate results, although it later transpired that he was more involved in events than he initially suggested. He left Austrian team Groedig by mutual consent on 14 November after the club said he had admitted trying to persuade four team mates to manipulate matches and in February he was given a life ban by the Austrian Football Federation.
Kuljic, who retired in 2012, played for Austria 20 times between 2005 and 2007 and was joint topscorer in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2005/06 for SV Ried with 15 goals.
Last November criminal investigators suggested that up to 17 first and second division matches could have been manipulated in the last seven years, nine of these were in the top flight Bundesliga and three involved Groedig. Nine of the 17 matches involved former Bundesliga club Kapfenberger, which was relegated at the end of the 2011-12 season.
Football integrity is one of the many issues that will be debated at next month’s Betting on Football Conference, held at Stamford Bridge on 8 May.
Taboga was initially hailed as a whistle-blower when he claimed he was being blackmailed to manipulate results, although it later transpired that he was more involved in events than he initially suggested. He left Austrian team Groedig by mutual consent on 14 November after the club said he had admitted trying to persuade four team mates to manipulate matches and in February he was given a life ban by the Austrian Football Federation.
Kuljic, who retired in 2012, played for Austria 20 times between 2005 and 2007 and was joint topscorer in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2005/06 for SV Ried with 15 goals.
Last November criminal investigators suggested that up to 17 first and second division matches could have been manipulated in the last seven years, nine of these were in the top flight Bundesliga and three involved Groedig. Nine of the 17 matches involved former Bundesliga club Kapfenberger, which was relegated at the end of the 2011-12 season.
Football integrity is one of the many issues that will be debated at next month’s Betting on Football Conference, held at Stamford Bridge on 8 May.
February 10, 2014
Online gambler suing operator that has consequences for whole of EU
A gambler that lost €1,000,000 playing online casino games in Austria is suing the online operator based on the fact that the company operated in conflict to Austrian monopoly laws towards online gambling, hence the player says makes it illegal and wants his losses back.
The case has reached the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) which asked for a revision of the entire national gambling legislation.
The court that heard the initial case has supported the claim by the player but was overruled by Austria’s Supreme Court which decided in favour of the online operator which claimed that the national gambling law established in Austria was a monopoly against European treaties on the free movement of services.
Because of the complexity of the case and rulings so far given the case has now gone to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for further evaluations.
The conclusion and decision of the ECJ will have huge consequences should they favour the idea of gambling monopolies being against European rules.
With countries such as Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania facing legal actions similar to those of Austria, not only this but should the gambler win his fight for compensation it would see thousands of other online gamblers going to court in those countries with similar laws as Austria.
The decision of the ECJ is crucial and a wake-up call for the EU to get a coherent and regulated law across the states to prevent this exploding into massive court cases.
The case has reached the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) which asked for a revision of the entire national gambling legislation.
The court that heard the initial case has supported the claim by the player but was overruled by Austria’s Supreme Court which decided in favour of the online operator which claimed that the national gambling law established in Austria was a monopoly against European treaties on the free movement of services.
Because of the complexity of the case and rulings so far given the case has now gone to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for further evaluations.
The conclusion and decision of the ECJ will have huge consequences should they favour the idea of gambling monopolies being against European rules.
With countries such as Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania facing legal actions similar to those of Austria, not only this but should the gambler win his fight for compensation it would see thousands of other online gamblers going to court in those countries with similar laws as Austria.
The decision of the ECJ is crucial and a wake-up call for the EU to get a coherent and regulated law across the states to prevent this exploding into massive court cases.
September 11, 2010
ECJ rules against Austrian gaming laws
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Austrian legislation requiring gaming operators to locate their seat in the country is not compliant with EU law.
In a judgement published yesterday, the ECJ found that “the obligation on persons holding concessions to operate gaming establishments to have their seat in Austria constitutes a restriction on freedom of establishment.”
Casinos Austria AG is currently the only company with permission from the Austrian Government to organise and operate gaming in the country, with 12 concessions granted and renewed without a public tender process.
The court said in its ruling that the absence of a competitive process allowing operators from other EU countries to apply for a casino license in the country “is contrary to the principle of equal treatment” and “constitutes indirect discrimination on grounds of nationality prohibited by EU law.”
Further, held the court, while restriction of operators located in other countries could be justified on the basis of “preventing those activities from being carried out for criminal or fraudulent purposes...the categorical exclusion of operators whose seat is in another Member State is disproportionate, as it goes beyond what is necessary to combat crime.”
The court was ruling on the questions raised by German national Ernst Engelmann on the compatibility of Austrian legislation on games of chance with freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services. This followed Engelmann appealing the decision of the Linz regional court of unlawfully organising games of chance after he operated two gaming establishments in Austria without having applied for a concession.
The ECJ judgement went on to say that in the absence of any transparency around the tender procedure, Austria’s grant of a concession to a local operator “constitutes difference in treatment to the detriment of operators located in other Member States, who have no real possibility of manifesting their interest in obtaining the concession in question.”
The court stated in its ruling that Austria had the choice of “various less restrictive measures” to monitor the activities and accounts of egaming operators located in other Member States.
Sigrid Ligné, secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association said: “Today’s ruling against the Austrian gambling laws confirms clearly that Member States cannot require EU licensed online operators to be physically present on their territory. In the Digital age there are obviously other and more efficient means available to monitor the activities of the operators.”
In a judgement published yesterday, the ECJ found that “the obligation on persons holding concessions to operate gaming establishments to have their seat in Austria constitutes a restriction on freedom of establishment.”
Casinos Austria AG is currently the only company with permission from the Austrian Government to organise and operate gaming in the country, with 12 concessions granted and renewed without a public tender process.
The court said in its ruling that the absence of a competitive process allowing operators from other EU countries to apply for a casino license in the country “is contrary to the principle of equal treatment” and “constitutes indirect discrimination on grounds of nationality prohibited by EU law.”
Further, held the court, while restriction of operators located in other countries could be justified on the basis of “preventing those activities from being carried out for criminal or fraudulent purposes...the categorical exclusion of operators whose seat is in another Member State is disproportionate, as it goes beyond what is necessary to combat crime.”
The court was ruling on the questions raised by German national Ernst Engelmann on the compatibility of Austrian legislation on games of chance with freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services. This followed Engelmann appealing the decision of the Linz regional court of unlawfully organising games of chance after he operated two gaming establishments in Austria without having applied for a concession.
The ECJ judgement went on to say that in the absence of any transparency around the tender procedure, Austria’s grant of a concession to a local operator “constitutes difference in treatment to the detriment of operators located in other Member States, who have no real possibility of manifesting their interest in obtaining the concession in question.”
The court stated in its ruling that Austria had the choice of “various less restrictive measures” to monitor the activities and accounts of egaming operators located in other Member States.
Sigrid Ligné, secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association said: “Today’s ruling against the Austrian gambling laws confirms clearly that Member States cannot require EU licensed online operators to be physically present on their territory. In the Digital age there are obviously other and more efficient means available to monitor the activities of the operators.”
June 18, 2010
Austria approves new gambling law
After more than two years of debate, the Austrian National Assembly approved new gaming legislation Wednesday, despite strong criticism by some lawmakers of its failure to adequately address the issue of player protection or to regulate online gaming.
National Assembly member Peter Pilz of the Green Party, the only party to vote against the legislation, said the new gaming law only serves the interests of gambling operators and fails to provide adequate player protection. The legislation was also criticised by the Freedom Party of Austria for failing to regulate online gambling.
National Assembly member Peter Pilz of the Green Party, the only party to vote against the legislation, said the new gaming law only serves the interests of gambling operators and fails to provide adequate player protection. The legislation was also criticised by the Freedom Party of Austria for failing to regulate online gambling.
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