So far our series has focused mainly on international groups from England, Malta or Gibraltar. This time we look at a provider that has its roots in Austria and whose history makes particularly clear how much the reclaiming of casino losses has changed the industry.
From Wels to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
bet-at-home was founded in 1999 by Jochen Dickinger and Franz Ömer in Wels, Upper Austria. In March 2000 the platform went online, initially with sports betting only. In 2004 the founders converted the company into a public limited company and listed it on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In the years that followed an online casino was added, and the French group Betclic, which today belongs to the Banijay Group, took over the majority. At the start of 2026 Banijay withdrew again, and two industry insiders, Franz Ömer and Stefan Sulzbacher, took over the leadership. The registered office of the listed company is today in Düsseldorf.
Why the Austrian casino was closed in 2021
For many years the online casino in Austria was the group’s most profitable business. It was operated not from Austria but through a Maltese subsidiary, bet-at-home.com Entertainment Ltd., with a licence from the Maltese authority. This company did not hold an Austrian licence. From 2020 onwards more and more players sued to reclaim their casino losses, and the courts ruled in their favour. In October 2021 bet-at-home completely discontinued the online casino in Austria. A few weeks later, in December 2021, liquidation proceedings were opened against the Maltese subsidiary.
What the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) decided in 2024
With the liquidation of the operating company, reclaiming seemed more difficult for many affected people, because a company unable to pay cannot pay out any money. It was precisely at this point that an important decision was handed down in 2024. The OGH dealt with the question of whether another company in the same group is jointly liable for the losses. The proceedings concerned an active sister company, bet-at-home.com Internet Ltd., which operated under the same brand and with the same technical infrastructure. The court affirmed a liability of this sister company. As a result, the reclaim no longer depends solely on the original operating company.
Why bet-at-home casino losses can be reclaimed
As with all providers, Austrian law draws a strict distinction between sports betting and casino. For sports betting no gambling licence is needed, so it stays out of scope here. The online casino, on the other hand, meaning slot games and table games, requires a licence. Since bet-at-home never held a licence in Austria, the gaming contract over the casino was void in line with the OGH. The stakes were therefore collected without any valid basis, and lost casino amounts can in principle be reclaimed, in some cases going back many years.
How we assess a bet-at-home case
The bet-at-home case is legally unusual because the original operating company is in liquidation. The judgment of the OGH on the liability of the sister company has, however, clearly improved the situation for affected people. It remains open how quickly a judgment against a company based in Malta can be enforced, because Malta is trying, with the so-called Bill 55, to make the enforcement of foreign judgments more difficult. Whether this is compatible with European law is currently being examined by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). We explain why enforceability determines the success of a reclaim in the article Why some online casinos are practically impossible to sue. We assess your casino losses at bet-at-home free of charge and without obligation. You can read how a collaboration works on the page Online casino and gambling.
How we proceed
The assessment of your case is free of charge. The proceedings against the provider are conducted by cooperating lawyers at our cost, and no upfront payment for lawyers is due from you. If successful, R. M. Prozessfinanzierung GmbH retains from 35 percent of the amount awarded, and the remaining amount is paid out to you. A condition for the collaboration is that you stop playing with these providers. You can read more about this on the page Online casino and gambling.
Player protection and help
If you feel that you no longer have your own gambling behaviour under control, you will find anonymous advice and concrete points of contact in the support services of the Federal Ministry of Finance. This help is independent of any reclaim.
Note
The information on companies, brands and figures in this article comes from publicly available internet research. We accept no liability for its accuracy or completeness.
Sources
- bet-at-home.com AG, company and financial information (annual reports), bet-at-home.ag
- Malta Gaming Authority, licence register (bet-at-home companies)
- Austrian Supreme Court (OGH), decision on liability for co-operating a gambling website, 2024
- Compatibility of Malta's Bill 55 with EU law · Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) · C-683/24