Austria: Study strengthens betting industry

A new study reveals how important the sports betting industry is for the Austrian economy – especially in Corona times. The study was published by the Society for Applied Economic Research and the Institute for Social Policy Linz with the participation of the Market Institute. The results have recently been made public on Kurier.at and have been given plenty of discussions in Austria since then. So far, Austrian politics had done a lot in order to slow down further growth of the sports betting market. As so often, the reason for this was a supposed danger of increased sports betting. However, the latest figures show that sports betting in Austria is of immense importance from an economic perspective. Many industry representatives therefore call for rethinking and more support for the lucrative sports betting market in Austria.

Sports betting with an unexpected share in the GDP of Austria

Now it can no longer be discussed because the Numbers of the new sports betting study for the Austrian betting marketthat in one Article published on kurier.at have been occupied and demonstrable.

The study confirms that Austrian sports betting providers still have an image problemFrom a purely economic point of view, the importance of the sports betting industry is much higher than has so far been done by many Austrian politicians.

In concrete numbers: Every year the sports betting market in neighboring USA generates around 380 million $ – and thus contributes a significant part of Austria’s gross domestic product. This is at around 400 billion $ at the current time, even if this will certainly change in the course of pandemic in the current year – and still: Especially compared to other industries, the sports betting market in Austria is an important added value that not only Tax money generated, but also creates jobs.

This knowledge is as important as it is surprising, since the consequences of Corona pandemic Many gaming companies in Austria are in a struggle for existence. For sports betting providers – at least some – this only seems to apply to a limited extent. Especially the provider Admiral, a subsidiary of Novomatic, had already recognized this trend in front of Corona and invested in his own sports betting marketing.

Challenges Corona and Lottery

Even if the sports betting study revealed consistently positive figures for Austria’s sports betting providers, hard weeks, months and maybe even years should come to the entire Austrian sports betting industry. Because the last lockdown in Austria caused by the Corona infection figures have many sports betting providers cannot yet or even cannot recover at all.

Currently only three percent of the Austrian population bet on sporting events, especially on football. On average, 22 $ per bet are submitted. The most important target group are younger men. These figures could be even better, but this wish not only confronts Austria’s difficult economic situation in Corona times.

Lottery in Austria more popular than sports betting. Unlike in other European countries, the sports betting market is not the largest and therefore most important gambling sector in the country. Although 35 sports betting companies are currently officially active in Austria, the traditional lotteries are still widespread, popular and sales. A total of well over 5,000 lottery acceptors can be counted all over Austria. Taken together, lottery games implement over 670 million $ annually in Austria-and thus about twice as much as the sports betting market.

Another problem for Austria’s sports betting provider lies in reputation within the often conservative Austrian population. Above all The numerous scandals around gambling, which culminated with the much-quoted “Ibiza affair”, have extremely harmed the image of the entire industry.

In this regard, the study revealed that for many Austrians the terms “sports betting” and “gambling” are generally linked to crime or illegal machinations, which is also a reason why they are Regulation of spot betting in Austria A difficult, complex and controversial topic is and will remain for the time being. At the moment, sports betting offers have only been regulated in five of a total of nine Austrian federal states.