Reclaiming sports betting losses in Austria: the legal situation

Anyone who has lost a lot of money on online sports betting often feels they have no chance. In many cases, however, the money is not lost beyond recovery. While reclaiming losses from online casinos has become common practice thanks to the strict gambling monopoly, sports betting was long regarded as legally difficult to challenge. That has changed.

Sports betting and casinos: an important difference

The Austrian legal system draws a strict distinction between gambling and betting.

• Online casinos fall under the Gambling Act and the federal monopoly. Where the Austrian licence is missing, the contracts are not permissible and losses are comparatively easy to reclaim.
• Sports betting is legally classified as a game of skill. The federal provinces are responsible for it, which makes the situation more complex.

With sports betting, you therefore cannot argue across the board on the basis of the federal monopoly. Nevertheless, there are effective legal approaches.

The key: gambling addiction and partial legal incapacity

The most important approach is to prove partial legal incapacity due to pathological gambling addiction (Section 865 Austrian Civil Code). When an independent court-appointed expert confirms that a person was no longer able to assess the economic consequences rationally at the time of the bets because of their addiction, the betting contracts concluded during that period can be void. The money then has to be repaid under the rules of unjust enrichment.

Breaches of provincial law requirements, such as ignoring mandatory player protection measures, can also lead to a reversal of the transactions.

How the assessment works

Because the hurdles for sports betting are high, the assessment is thorough. A claim is pursued in particular when well-founded medical documentation of the addiction is available. The preliminary assessment is free of charge, discreet and without obligation.

If it is positive, R. M. Prozessfinanzierung GmbH, as the litigation funder, covers the costs of the proceedings, from lawyers’ fees and court costs to expert opinions. You make no upfront payment. The proceedings are conducted by cooperating lawyers. If successful, we retain from 35 percent of the amount obtained, and the remaining amount is paid out to you.

For a detailed treatment of the topic, see the Sports betting page.