The Supreme Court of Austria has ordered Bet-at-home, a subsidiary of Betclic Everest, to pay €2.8 million in player losses. This is nearly three years after it withdrew from the market.
Between August 2018 and July 2020, a player incurred significant losses on Bet-at-home’s site. The case involved a player identified as a gambling addict. The court ruled that, due to their addiction, the plaintiff was legally incapacitated while participating in online gambling.
To settle the case, its Bet-at-Home Entertainment subsidiary had recently set aside €2.3 million.
The ruling dates back to May 2022. It also relates to Bet-at-home.com Entertainment Ltd., the now group’s defunct Malta business. The court has held Bet-at-home AG, the parent company, and its Malta subsidiary, Bet-at-home.com Internet Ltd, liable for reimbursing the losses. This is even though the subsidiary is in liquidation.
It said in a statement dated last August 21, in its 2024 revenue forecast of €45 million to €53 million, Bet-at-home is assessing the impact payout. It was estimated in its July H1 earnings, it would report EBITDA in the range of negative €1 million to a positive €2.5 million figure.
Austria operates a monopoly for online casinos, held by Casinos Austria subsidiary Win2Day. Other online brands can only offer sports betting.
In February 2021, plans have not progressed since even if the Austrian government did talk about re-regulating the market. This includes a new gambling regulator. Whether this re-regulation would open up verticals like icasino to other brands, it was also unclear.
Last October 2021, it withdrew from the Austrian online casino market. This is in the wake of determined foreign igaming brands that were operating illegally in the country by the Supreme Court ruling. That gave customers scope to sue to recoup gambling losses, meaning contracts with players were invalid.
