Vienna. The step had been considered for a long time, and it is also written into the turquoise-green government program. The fact that things are now going particularly quickly is likely to have something to do with the latest investigations by the economic and corruption prosecutor's office against Finance Minister Gernot Blümel about donations for the ÖVP offered by ex-Novomatic boss Harald Neumann. Blümel rejects any allegations of a donation by Novomatic. In any case, on Wednesday the Council of Ministers made nails and decided to “unbundle competencies” for the Ministry of Finance on the subject of gambling.
So far, the Ministry of Finance has been the owner's representative of Casinos Austria (through the state investment agency Öbag) and the responsible control authority for all gaming companies. This dual function is to be broken in the future by transferring the agendas to an independent gaming authority that is not subject to instructions.
Who appoints the authority?
Specifically, this new authority is supposed to be responsible for the operational supervision of the conduct of gambling companies. In the much more sensitive issue of the award of licenses, which is usually due every ten years, a “judicial concession panel” should also be interposed. There should be strict incompatibility, transparency and compliance regulations in order to prevent companies from being influenced.
When it comes to unbundling, they want to orient themselves towards “international showcase models”, says von Blümel. And the coalition partner is also pleased. It will be an important step in the fight against gambling addiction, said Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler.
However, the details do not have to be negotiated until the draft assessment in April. For example, it is not yet clear how the important function of the authority management will be appointed in the future. A resolution by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Ministry of Finance is possible, but also an appointment by the Parliament or the Federal President, according to the request of the “press” in the – still – responsible ministry. The same applies to the details of the concession panel.
Less advertising
Also with regard to the content of the planned reform, some things are still not entirely clear. For example, “the general conditions for advertising games of chance should be specified in analogy to the provisions in the Tobacco Act”. In the Ministry of Finance it is said that this will probably tighten it – that is, less advertising.
The issuing of licenses is also more restricted. The three casino licenses that have not been awarded are to be completely canceled. However, the planned cancellation of the nationwide license for video lottery terminals (VLT) is even more painful for Casinos Austria. This enabled slot machine games to be offered in those federal states that have prohibited so-called small gambling (Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna). The casinos operate 13 of their 21 VLT arcades in these countries.
But tougher times should also break for the competition. According to local judicature, illegal sites are to be blocked by means of DNS blocking. If this is implemented seriously, it would affect all online gaming providers apart from the casino subsidiary Win2day.
[R8EBP]
