LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The Austrian Gaming Act lays the legal foundations

The legal basis and, by extension, the basis of the range of games offered by the individual companies within our Group is the Austrian Gaming Act, Federal Law Gazette No. 620/1989, as amended, as well as the associated explanatory notes and the licence decision issued as a result of this.

Alongside the above legislation, Austria's regulation on gambling machines (Federal Law Gazette No. 69/2012), as amended, applies to the performance of electronic lotteries in the form of video lottery terminals.

The main objective of the existing rules for the gambling sector in Austria is to protect players from an oversupply and from rogue providers. This objective is described in the explanatory notes to this Act: "[...] the illegal practice of gambling observed in states in which gambling is prohibited is prevented; on the other hand, the state is able to monitor the now legally operated gambling. The primary objective of this monitoring must be the protection of individual players."

Beyond this, the strict licence system laid down for gambling in Austria prevents money laundering and crime.

Sports betting is not a game of chance

In Austria, sports betting does not fall under the federal government's monopoly on games of chance and is therefore not covered by the Austrian Gaming Act. Sports betting is a regional matter and therefore regulated separately in each province. Österreichische Lotterien Ges.m.b.H. subsidiary Österreichische Sportwetten Gesellschaft m.b.H. holds the relevant permits in all nine provinces to provide sports betting services and offers its range via the tipp3 brand.