Illegal Gambling on the Rise in Austria

Austria’s Financial Police continues the fight against illegal gambling activities. A recent report by the Financial Police outlined that illegal gambling is concentrated around large cities. The report also outlined that so far this year, there have been 660 illegal gambling machines confiscated. 

Austria’s Financial Police Fights the Illegal Gambling in the Country

Illegal gambling is concentrated in large cities in Austria, says a recent statement by the Financial Police. In an announcement today, the Financial Police in Austria disclosed details on its progress against illegal gambling in the country. According to the statement, there have been some 660 gaming machines confiscated by the Financial Police since the start of this year. On the other hand, there were 278 checks for suspected illegal gambling activities.

Gernot Blümel, finance minister of Austria commented on the subject by congratulating the Finance Police for their success. He outlined that as a result of the preventive actions by the Finance Police, the outstanding illegal gambling activity is not active across the country but rather it is rather concentrated in certain urban areas. Blümel further added that the fight against illegal gambling in the country will continue. The finance minister stressed that the illegal gambling market must be met with strength in order to decrease the number of people which are negatively affected.

Confiscation of Illegal Gambling Equipment across Austria

According to the report, a spike of illegal gambling activity was observed in the third largest city and capital of the state of Upper Austria – Linz. Since the beginning of the year, in the Linz area alone there have been 123 confiscated illegal gambling devices.

In the recent checks for illegal gambling activity, the Financial Police found and confiscated some 38 gambling devices within the state of Upper Austria. In that line of thoughts, since the beginning of the year, in Vienna alone, the Financial Police has issued more than €13 million in fines.

A peculiar case was outlined in the report where 20 illegal gambling machines were confiscated since May from one and the same restaurant. On the other hand, the Finance Police found and confiscated a total of 2 illegal gambling machines from areas which are less populated such as Styria, Vorarlberg and Burgenland.