Finance

Support for independent gambling authority. This does not guarantee independence in terms of legislation.

Casinos Austria have “the most challenging year in their history” behind them – “and that also applies to me personally,” Casinos boss Bettina Glatz-Kremsner told journalists on Friday. This includes that the 12 casinos and the 21 slot machine locations had to close for a long time. Therefore, although the casinos will write “a higher double-digit million amount” loss, the group, including lotteries and the online game Win2day, will still be in the black.

A savings program that Casinos Austria developed within eight weeks also helped. This would save 50 million euros in costs and reduce the workforce by 500 jobs (full-time equivalents).

Bettina Glatz-Kremsner

Such a program is not something a board member is proud of, but “a necessary step” to make Casinos Austria “fit for the future”, says the company boss. Now it would be “the happiest day” for the employees if the locations could open up again.

Glatz-Kremsner understands that politicians are discussing how to deal with gambling. Finance Minister Gernot Blümel, himself under pressure because of his contacts with the Novomatic gaming group, presented a concept for an independent gaming authority and other new regulations for the industry a few days ago.

Casinos Austria was not involved in the draft and has not contacted politicians since its publication. Your company would like to contribute its national and international experience, offered Glatz-Kremsner.

An independent regulatory body for gambling, as envisaged in the government's draft, “we see absolutely positively”. But such an authority does not protect against influencing the legislation and also not influencing the appointments on the board, said Glatz-Kremsner. Casinos Austria is currently in turmoil because the FPÖ politician Peter Sidlo was lifted onto the board and the exact circumstances and possible counter-deals of politics are currently being discussed publicly in a committee of inquiry.

Glatz-Kremsner also welcomes the government's plan to strengthen player protection. Austria's player protection with bans and the possibility of claiming damages if the companies do not comply with the restrictions are unique in Europe. However, foreign companies without a domestic license would not adhere to it. These illegal offers are a problem. An Austria-wide joint “blocking association” in which all player bans would be entered and which all providers would have to adhere to would be very positive.

Glatz-Kremsner is critical of a possible advertising ban. The company spends “a mid-double-digit million amount” but less than 50 million euros on advertising. The lion's share concerns the lottery. If these expenses were banned, the tobacconists would lose a lot of sales and the local media would lose income, she argues. 75 percent of 5,500 lottery sales points are tobacconists, of which more than half (53 percent) are people with disabilities. The tobacconists would make 20 percent of their income with gaming products. Should advertising restrictions reduce sales, this would also have social consequences. In addition, the lottery is only responsible for a tiny fraction of gambling addicts.

Glatz-Kremsner finds the advertising of her own company “absolutely responsible” because it channels the players in the direction of legal offers. “I am convinced that we simply offer gambling incredibly responsibly,” especially when compared to illegal providers. Although Casinos Austria has the only Austrian license for online gambling, its market share is estimated to be only 40 percent.

Glatz-Kremsner assumes that the restrictions on slot machines mentioned in the draft do not affect the devices in the casinos. If only that would only lead to migration to illegality or abroad, she says, pointing out that the lottery license would allow 5,000 devices, but only 862 devices were installed. In contrast, there would be 4,200 slot machines that were installed in five federal states on the basis of state laws. But one still has to wait for the concrete legislative proposal, which was promised for April, in order to evaluate the details.

By 2030, the country should be provided with super-fast internet across the board. However, the expansion to date has raised doubts.

In an international comparison, Austria is still miles away from the broadband model country. The goal announced with the broadband billion in 2013 to provide Austria with high-speed internet at 100 Mbit / s by the end of 2020 has failed. According to current surveys, a mere 10 Mbit / s could be achieved. And when it comes to fiber optic networks, Austria has repeatedly taken last place in Europe in recent years.

2030 remains the target for gigabit connectivity

Regardless of this, Federal Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) had already spoken of “extremely positive figures” and “blatant improvements” in January on the occasion of a current survey. Despite the “huge leap forward” proclaimed at the time, the goal is now only 100 Mbit / s basic service for 77 percent of households by 2024.

The minister, however, stuck to the goal announced years ago of equipping Austria with super-fast gigabit coverage across the board by the end of 2030. This guideline value was also the focus of the “broadband summit” convened on Friday, to which representatives from the federal, state and local governments, industry representatives and telecommunications companies were invited.

Hardly any specific announcements

At the press conference called afterwards, however, the actors remained vague. As Corona has shown, high-performance internet is essential in all areas, from businesses and homeschooling to agriculture, tourism and online shopping, was the common tenor. With today's broadband summit one could conclude an alliance for broadband expansion in Austria, announced Köstinger. It also announced the new “Platform Internet Infrastructure Austria 2030 – PIA 2030”, through which the procedure will be coordinated.

The available download rate can be checked online at broadbandatlas.gv.at (as of June 2020)

When asked by futurezone why the goal of 100 Mbit / s could not be achieved by 2020 and has now been corrected downwards, Köstinger indirectly referred to the omissions of her predecessors. You only took over the office in March 2020. She also referred once more to the improvements made recently and explained that with all promised subsidies of the past billion in broadband, 80 percent of the goal of 100 Mbit coverage had been achieved. It is unclear where this number comes from. The last survey said that 80 percent of Austrian households are now supplied with 30 Mbit / s.

5G instead of fiber

The minister was unable to elicit any specific statements on the topic of fiber optic expansion either. “With the current inventory we were able to show that we have already been able to catch up with fiber optics and are now in the middle of the field,” said Köstinger. The gigabit connection is currently already in 42 percent of all Austrian households. This value was last at 38 percent in January.

Between the lines, however, one could hear that 5G in particular should play an important role in the Austrian broadband strategy. In view of the high affinity of Austrians for mobile data connections and the comparatively well-developed mobile network, this is obvious. According to Köstinger, 5G also offers an excellent opportunity to close the gap between fiber optic connections and people in rural areas.

The federal government's 5G strategy was also mentioned as the first specific topic in the work program that will be determined when the newly announced platform is launched. The platform is coordinated by Köstinger's ministry, the regulatory authority RTR and the funding agency FFG.

The fear of 5G in communities

In the press conference, the President of the Austrian Association of Municipalities, Alfred Riedl, did not respond to the criticism of the mobile radio operators that antenna sites are rented by municipalities at overpriced tariffs. He directed the focus more to the uncertainty among citizens when it comes to 5G, which in turn affects mayors. Riedl is convinced that one has to deal with the fears and worries even more intensively and accompany the entire expansion process more openly.

It has already been decided that a second billion in funding will come to meet the gigabit target for 2030. The coming weeks and months will show which actors will benefit most from this and how they will position themselves for this. The mobile operators who were not represented at the press conference were optimistic in their initial reactions and welcomed the newly created platform.

In the case of the first broadband billion, Drei and Magenta, as well as the then broadband provider UPC, repeatedly criticized the alleged imbalance in subsidies in favor of A1 and its landline technologies. In general, Köstinger promised more transparency in awarding contracts and construction projects, as well as simplified procedures and less bureaucracy in broadband projects. “The question of expansion is not just a question of financing, but also of optimal coordination,” said the minister.

Cable car specialist group chairman Gapp: “Many are rethinking their planned investments.”

The Vorarlberg cable car companies expect a fall in sales of 160 million euros in the 2020/21 winter season due to the corona pandemic. The companies put their slump in some cases over 90 percent, mainly due to the absence of foreign ski guests, reported the “Vorarlberger Nachrichten” . As far as state support is concerned, Andreas Gapp, chairman of the cable car group in the Vorarlberg Chamber of Commerce, expected “exciting negotiations”.

“From an economic point of view, the whole thing is a catastrophe for us and is forcing many to rethink their planned investments,” said Gapp about the industry. As expected, the local skiers could not have made up for the absence of foreign guests.

Easter

According to the newspaper report, there is also uncertainty with regard to the end of the season because it is not possible to plan due to the constantly changing framework conditions caused by politics. In Lech, Zürs and Oberlech, for example, they are planning to keep the facilities open until April 11, but it could also be closed on April 5, Easter Monday. At the Silvretta Montafon (SiMo) you want to climb from week to week.

In Gargellen the systems are to run until April 11th, but from March 12th only on weekends and possibly on Easter weekend. In Warth am Arlberg and in the Brandnertal the ski season ends on April 5th this year, as well as in the Golm ski area in Montafon.

The Bregenzerwald ski area Diedamskopf in Au / Schoppernau has brought the end of the season forward to February 28th. The last day of skiing in Klostertal on the Sonnenkopf was unsafe. April 18th is officially mentioned there, but it could also be April 5th or 11th.

Before the People's Congress, Prime Minister Li Keqiang presented China's strategy for the future.

Beijing people

Despite the global recession caused by the corona pandemic, China wants to achieve strong economic growth of “more than six percent” this year. In order to become more independent from abroad, Prime Minister Li Keqiang emphasized on Friday at the opening of the annual meeting of the People's Congress in Beijing that the development of the domestic economy must be “given priority”. Own innovation should also be promoted much more strongly than before.

This is intended to reduce the technological dependencies. The plenary session of the Chinese parliament will focus on the economic goals and budget for this year, the new five-year plan from 2021 to 2025 and a controversial electoral reform for Hong Kong. Beijing wants to curtail the already limited democracy in the Chinese special administrative region even further. The meeting of almost 3,000 delegates this year is shorter than usual and will only last until next Thursday.

Chin wants to increase military spending

Amid growing tensions with the US, India, Taiwan and the controversial South China Sea, China will increase its military spending by 6.8 percent this year. This means that spending on the military is growing faster than the overall budget. In the previous year, the increase was already 6.6 percent despite the Corona crisis. “The military's strategic capabilities to protect the sovereignty, security and development interests of our country are being strengthened,” said Premier Li Keqiang in his speech.

As an important part of the country's “great renewal”, China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping is massively advancing the modernization of the armed forces. “That includes being a leader in the world in terms of international influence and having a first-class military that can fight and win wars,” said Helena Legarda, an expert at the China Merics Institute in Berlin.

China with growth even in 2020

The growth target of more than six percent for the second largest economy came as a surprise. In the previous year, the prime minister had refrained from making such a requirement as usual due to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic. In 2020, despite the slump in the economy, 2.3 percent growth was achieved, especially at the beginning of the year. As the world went into recession, China was the only major economy that posted growth.

Beijing responded to the crisis with a massive economic stimulus package. The International Monetary Fund expects China to grow by 8.1 percent this year. Because of the ongoing billions in spending, the Prime Minister announced that the budget deficit as a percentage of economic output this year, at 3.2 percent, will again be above the critical mark of three percent. In the previous year it was 3.6 percent.

Innovation at the heart

An important realignment is the concept of “two cycles”, with which the domestic economic circulation is to be promoted. China wants to make itself more independent because of the sanctions imposed by the USA and the global crisis. As part of the five-year plan, the strategy is to “expand domestic demand, intensify structural reforms on the supply side and generate new demand with innovation-driven development and high-quality offers,” said Li Keqiang.

Innovation remains at the heart of the modernization offensive. “We will strengthen our science and technology to strategically support China's development,” said Li Keqiang in his hour-long report. The digitization of the country should also be accelerated further. One will “work faster to develop a digital society, a digital government and a healthy digital ecosystem”.

“The Chinese government is trying very hard to avoid shocks for domestic companies through the global supply chains,” said the chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, Jörg Wuttke, on Chinese state television about the new policy. “At the same time, I hope that doesn't mean that China will turn its back on the world.”

MPs vaccinated

Because of the pandemic, the plenary session had to be postponed to May last year. The normalization in China is demonstrated by the fact that it will take place again in March as usual. The MPs in the Great Hall of the People are all vaccinated and wore mouth and nose protection, while only the members of the top leadership appeared on the podium without a mask. The most populous country has largely got the virus under control with curfews and mass tests for millions, as well as contact tracing, quarantine and strict entry restrictions.

The Supreme Court overturned the judgments of the first two instances.

The Supreme Court (OGH) has issued a landmark judgment in a legal dispute between a Vorarlberg hotel and an insurance company. The insurance company refused to fully cover the downtime caused by the coronavirus. In the first two instances, the courts followed the hotel's arguments, the Supreme Court now decided in favor of the insurance company, reported the “Wirtschaftspresseagentur.com” .

According to the hotel's business failure insurance (amounting to 100,000 euros), a business closure for 30 days had to be covered on the basis of the Epidemic Act. The insurance only paid for the first twelve days (40,000 euros), it did not pay for the other days.

Different interpretation

The insurance company relied on the fact that the company closure ordinance based on the Epidemic Act had been repealed in March 2020 after the first twelve days. Thereafter, an entry ban for accommodation establishments came into force by ordinance. This was based on the Covid-19 Measures Act, not the Epidemic Act.

In the first judgment of the Feldkirch regional court it was said that the entry ban was equivalent to a factual closure of the company and that the ordinance served to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

difference

However, the Supreme Court did see a difference between a company closure in accordance with the Epidemic Act and a ban on entry as a result of an ordinance by the Vorarlberg governor based on the Covid 19 Measures Act. Especially since both laws exist in parallel and that must have a meaning.

For hotel lawyer Linus Mähr, the decision of the Supreme Court was incomprehensible. “If a hotel is forbidden to enter, then it is probably like a closure in accordance with the natural sense of right of the population,” he said.

Monika Schnitzer warns of prejudice. Only a small part of the added value is affected. Experts warn of business deaths.

The German economy Monika Schnitzer has warned against a prejudice by the government for the latest decisions in the fight against the corona crisis. “We can hold out for quite a while,” she told the “Rheinische Post ” (Friday) with a view to the burdens on the economy from the effects of the lockdown.

The closed retail trade and companies from the leisure sector are particularly affected. “In the entire economic structure, however, these areas only make up a small part of the added value.” If corona aid were now used sensibly, she was “very confident that we will have outgrown the crisis in a few years without there being any deep social cuts for people or tax increases.”

Schnitzer also praised the fact that the federal and state governments had drawn up a multi-week plan for the first time. “A lot of people have wanted that for a long time, because then you can plan better.” The so-called economic modes are an advisory body for the German government. The official name of the body, which consists of top economists, is “Advisory Council for the Assessment of Overall Economic Development”.

Many industry associations, especially in the retail sector, had reacted indignantly to the resolutions of the federal and state governments late on Wednesday evening, and the criticism of the industries affected continued. “Numerous toy retailers go to the dogs,” warned the Federal Association of Toy Retailers (BVS). “The drama is that our forced closure doesn't even save lives,” they say. Shopping in stores has never been dangerous. “If the lockdown is extended until after Easter – as planned – the dying will spread in the inner cities.”

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) rates the risk of infection in retail and its contribution to infection as “low” – this is what it says in a strategy paper published by the RKI (“ControlCovid”) in mid-February 2021. For this reason, however, the paper does not recommend a general opening of the retail sector beyond shops for everyday needs.

The Federal Association of the Concert and Event Industry (BDKV) also complains about the resolutions as “completely unacceptable”. Association President Jens Michow told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe that the federal and state governments had once again failed to give their industry a perspective on the conditions under which events could take place again. “The industry's nerves are on edge.”

The fitness studios have had an opening perspective since Wednesday evening. “But this is linked to conditions that are difficult to implement or influence for companies,” said the Employers' Association of German Fitness and Health Systems (DSSV). The required incidence value is difficult to achieve given the currently stagnating numbers and partial opening. And: “Solutions through rapid tests sound promising at first, but many details about the implementation are not yet known, although these decisions are too long in coming.”

Orders grew 1.4 percent on the previous month due to good foreign demand

Despite the second corona wave, German industry landed a surprising number of orders in January. The orders grew due to better foreign demand by 1.4 percent compared to the previous month, as the German Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Friday. Economists had only expected half as strong an increase of 0.7 percent.

In December there had been a revised decline of 2.2 percent – the first after seven increases in a row. Measured on February 2020, the month before the start of the restrictions in the wake of the corona pandemic, orders are now 3.7 percent higher.

The lockdown, which began in November and was later tightened, is primarily a problem for restaurateurs, service providers and downtown retailers. Industry can count on the fact that foreign business will pick up more momentum with the expected recovery of the global economy. In January, export orders rose by a strong 4.2 percent, while those from Germany fell by 2.6 percent. Orders from the euro zone grew by 3.9 percent, while those from the rest of the world rose by as much as 4.4 percent.

Above all, capital goods such as machines and vehicles were in demand. Here, demand rose by a total of 3.3 percent at the beginning of the year.

Statistics Austria: “Particularly exposed through accommodation / gastronomy”

Austria's economy fell a little less sharply in the 2020 corona year than assumed recently. According to preliminary calculations by Statistics Austria, the gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 6.6 percent in real terms – at the beginning of February, Wifo had assumed minus 7.4 percent. In the fourth quarter, too, the decline of 5.7 percent within a year was less than previously feared, said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas on Friday.

The decline in economic output of 6.6 percent in 2020 as a whole was the most striking decline since 1945. According to Thomas, GDP fell 2.8 percentage points more than in the year of the economic and financial crisis in 2009.

According to the head of Statistics Austria, the fact that Austria's economy was hit quite hard in a European comparison is due in particular to the sharp decline in economic output, especially in the areas of accommodation and gastronomy. “Their share in the Austrian added value is more than three times heavier than, for example, in Germany”, says Thomas.

In the fourth quarter, real GDP, seasonally and working day adjusted, was 2.7 percent below the previous quarter. The sharpest quarter-on-quarter decline was last year in the third quarter with minus 11.8 percent, followed by the second with minus 10.7 percent. Year-on-year, GDP fell the most in the second quarter with minus 13.5 percent during the first lockdown.

“Professional smuggling has no lockdown.” Roland Karner, team leader at the customs office at Vienna Airport, drew this conclusion in retrospect on 2020. Although there was a decrease of around 43 percent compared to 2019, the airport handled 75 percent fewer passengers. Among other things, the finds of leeches and martial eagle feathers were bizarre.

Image: APA

Karner reported about 30,000 controls in tourist traffic at the airport in Schwechat. In normal times it is 90,000 to 100,000 per year. There were 2,156 seizures. Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) emphasized that customs activities are also relevant in times of declining passengers.

According to the balance sheet for 2020, 34.5 percent of all seizures in the passenger clearance of the airport customs took place according to the animal disease law. Around 1.5 tons of meat and dairy products as well as 50 kilos of honey were confiscated. These products are subject to restrictions to prevent the introduction of animal diseases and diseases.

Cigarettes and cigars in the luggage accounted for 27 percent of the attacks. 782,490 pieces were seized by customs. Third place among all seizures went to prohibited imports of plants, fruit and vegetables with around 21 percent. According to the Ministry of Finance, around three tons were carried, contrary to the applicable bans and restrictions as well as plant protection regulations.

8.8 percent of all seizures related to jewelry (value: 393,000 euros), 2.9 percent to textiles for 47,300 euros. Also at 2.9 percent, seizures of addictive substances were found among travelers. 220 kilos of khat, around 14 kilos of heroin and about two kilos of cocaine were also withdrawn from circulation by customs.

“There is almost nothing that has not already been attempted to be smuggled,” said Blümel. About 300 grams of medicinal leeches that were supposed to be imported from Turkey are remembered. 73 feathers of a martial eagle can also be seen as an unusual pickup. Customs controls in tourist traffic are not only important for economic reasons, it is also about the protection of people and animals, the minister stated.

According to Karner, the “newer” smuggled goods include skin bleaching agents, some of which are naturally carcinogenic. Thousands of MNS masks were also seized last year. Professional smugglers reacted immediately by resuming air traffic after the first lockdown.

A leopard and a wolf skin, a stuffed crocodile, a tiger's claw and a handbag made of snakeskin were also confiscated and presented on the occasion of the balance sheet for the past year. In addition, there were “potency pills of all kinds”, forbidden weapons such as brass knuckles and items of clothing that come under trademark protection.

“Professional smuggling has no lockdown.” Roland Karner, team leader at the customs office at Vienna Airport, drew this conclusion in retrospect on 2020. Although there was a decrease of around 43 percent compared to 2019, the airport handled 75 percent fewer passengers. Among other things, the finds of leeches and martial eagle feathers were bizarre.

Image: APA

Karner reported about 30,000 controls in tourist traffic at the airport in Schwechat. In normal times it is 90,000 to 100,000 per year. There were 2,156 seizures. Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) emphasized that customs activities are also relevant in times of declining passengers.

According to the balance sheet for 2020, 34.5 percent of all seizures in the passenger clearance of the airport customs took place according to the animal disease law. Around 1.5 tons of meat and dairy products as well as 50 kilos of honey were confiscated. These products are subject to restrictions to prevent the introduction of animal diseases and diseases.

Cigarettes and cigars in the luggage accounted for 27 percent of the attacks. 782,490 pieces were seized by customs. Third place among all seizures went to prohibited imports of plants, fruit and vegetables with around 21 percent. According to the Ministry of Finance, around three tons were carried, contrary to the applicable bans and restrictions as well as plant protection regulations.

8.8 percent of all seizures related to jewelry (value: 393,000 euros), 2.9 percent to textiles for 47,300 euros. Also at 2.9 percent, seizures of addictive substances were found among travelers. 220 kilos of khat, around 14 kilos of heroin and about two kilos of cocaine were also withdrawn from circulation by customs.

“There is almost nothing that has not already been attempted to be smuggled,” said Blümel. About 300 grams of medicinal leeches that were supposed to be imported from Turkey are remembered. 73 feathers of a martial eagle can also be seen as an unusual pickup. Customs controls in tourist traffic are not only important for economic reasons, it is also about the protection of people and animals, the minister stated.

According to Karner, the “newer” smuggled goods include skin bleaching agents, some of which are naturally carcinogenic. Thousands of MNS masks were also seized last year. Professional smugglers reacted immediately by resuming air traffic after the first lockdown.

A leopard and a wolf skin, a stuffed crocodile, a tiger's claw and a handbag made of snakeskin were also confiscated and presented on the occasion of the balance sheet for the past year. In addition, there were “potency pills of all kinds”, forbidden weapons such as brass knuckles and items of clothing that come under trademark protection.