Accumulators are not gambling: How did Austria's Supreme Court get here?

Austria occupies a special position within the EU regarding sports betting.

It is a rare country where sports betting is, incredulously, not legally classified as gambling. Instead, it is defined as a game of skill.

Indeed, a recent ruling by the OGH has reinforced this position, confirming that even accumulator betting does not fall under the legal definition of gambling.

Sports betting is regulated at the state level rather than under a federal gambling monopoly, creating a fragmented system across regions. This patchwork of rules can create challenges for operators, particularly where licensing requirements include conditions such as maintaining a physical presence or server within certain provinces.

Why the Austrian Supreme Court confirmed that accumulator betting is not gambling

The OGH recently upheld a ruling confirming that accumulators do not constitute gambling under Austrian law.

The case involved a player from Styria who lost around €30,000 ($35,000) on sports betting and attempted to recover the funds, arguing that accumulator betting should be treated as gambling and therefore void due to the operator lacking a gambling licence.

He was partially successful at the Wiener Neustadt Regional Court, but the Vienna Higher Regional Court rejected his appeal. The OGH has now upheld the latter decision.

The OGH reaffirmed the legal reasoning that sports betting outcomes are not primarily determined by chance, as bettors can assess the relative strength of teams and athletes. This is not the first such ruling in Styria.

The ruling is notable in the context of broader European litigation trends, where courts in several jurisdictions, including Austria, have increasingly entertained reimbursement claims against unlicensed gambling operators. However, it is important to distinguish that some of these rulings in Austria have involved online casinos, while fragmented sports betting regulations complicate matters.

Where did pressure for reform originate?

Late last year, addiction prevention experts in Austria called for tighter regulation of sports betting.

Eva Kouba from the Styrian Gambling Addiction Center stated: “Gambling laws contain very specific regulations for player protection in a wide variety of areas and this aspect, in terms of scope and precision, is lacking in the sports betting sector because it is not defined as gambling.”

Following an open letter by experts to politicians in 2024 urging that sports betting be reclassified as gambling, discussions took place but no concrete action has followed.

Gambling Act reform remains uncertain

The new Austrian Gambling Act is still in development and is expected to introduce broader regulatory changes, including the possibility of multiple online casino licences and an end to the current monopoly structure.

The reform has also raised questions about whether sports betting’s classification as a game of skill could be reconsidered as part of wider legal updates.

However, timelines have already slipped, with the bill originally expected before the end of March and ahead of the parliamentary summer recess. This means any regulatory overhaul is delayed.

Can bettors reclaim losses if sports betting is reclassified as gambling?

The Tipico case currently before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) centres on whether German players can recover betting losses from 2013 to 2020, a period when Tipico held a Maltese licence but not a German one.

This relates to the period before Germany’s 2021 State Gambling Treaty and raises the question of whether similar reimbursement claims for accumulator betting could arise in Austria were it to introduce a new regulatory framework.

Sports betting is already licensed in some Austrian states despite not falling under gambling law, with betting shops operating and sponsorships common. A recent Advocate General opinion on the ECJ Tipico case stated that a provider has no cause for concern if it has received broad assurances from local authorities; these assurances would need to indicate that the provider is exempt from gambling licensing requirements.

Taken together with the OGH stance, this suggests that, even if Austria were to reclassify sports betting in future, retrospective treatment of accumulator betting as unlicensed gambling subject to reimbursement is unlikely to apply. Any potential claims would more likely be limited to cases involving operators that had no lawful basis for market activity under local rules at the time.

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