Police in Austria Hits Illegal Gambling Dens with €500k in Fines

Bundesministerium Finanzen, the financial police in Austria, released Tuesday data regarding operations against undeclared work, illegal businesses and tax evasion. The cumulative efforts of the police along with other related agencies resulted in a total of €6.5 million ($7 million) in fines and 2,185 criminal cases.

Within the gambling sector, for the first quarter, the financial police imposed €492,000 ($526,300) in fines. This was part of its efforts against illegal gambling. Overall, 46 companies were subject to searches and investigations for the first quarter of this year. This resulted in 27 criminal complaints against individuals involved in illicit gambling activities.

A record for the most criminal complaints related to illegal gambling was reported in Vienna, where 20 such complaints were recorded. The fines related to the illicit gambling activities in Vienna represented the lion’s share of the total, or some €300,000 ($320,800).

Magnus Brunner, the country’s Finance Minister, spoke about the recent figures and explained that illegal activities and evading taxes are harmful to legal businesses. He outlined that unlicensed or illegal businesses benefit from “unfair competitive conditions” which ultimately impacts “honest entrepreneurs” and companies. Finally, Brunner said: “Therefore, as part of our anti-fraud strategy, the financial police make a significant contribution to protecting our business location.”

Most Fines Relate to Salzburg and Vienna

A breakdown of the total fines against illegal activities, including gambling, per region, reveals that the highest number of fines, or €2.3 million ($2.5 million) relate to Salzburg. Next in line is Vienna with €1.4 million ($1.5 million) in fines, followed by Lower Austria with €1 million ($1.1 million) in fines.

Not unexpectedly, the highest number of criminal complaints were related to Vienna, a total of 567, followed by Lower Austria with 424 and Upper Austria with 352.

More than 13,200 employees within 7,200 companies were subject to the probe by the financial police for the first quarter of the year. Most of the businesses inspected were a part of the construction sector, a total of 1,792. Next in line was the hospitality industry with 1,062 inspected businesses followed by the transport sector with 973 inspections.