Austrian litigation funder Jufina has sued SK Rapid Vienna and the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) over their sponsorship deals with Interwetten.
Jufina argues that although Interwetten is permitted to offer sports betting in Austria, it also advertises online casino games on its website.
It has been pursuing legal action for years on behalf of players to recover losses from unlicensed online casino operators and retains a commission percentage in successful cases.
In the case of the ÖSV, Jufina filed its lawsuit at the Innsbruck Regional Court. The federation advertises Interwetten as an “event partner” on its website, on social media and at World Cup races.
Jufina claims this advertising gives the company “false legitimacy” and promotes an illegal offering. Jufina is therefore demanding that the federation stop advertising the operator as long as the company offers online casino in Austria.
The lawsuit is not directed against the gambling operator itself but against its advertising partners. Jufina board member Stefan Schleicher openly admits that he is deliberately seeking new legal avenues.
Schleicher stated: "We want to increase the pressure on online casinos and are therefore exploring every conceivable, creative avenue. Large online casinos use a wide range of sports betting as a gateway to attract new customers. This also makes them highly active in sports sponsorship. And now we're targeting their partners."
The Austrian Ministry of Finance completed an initial draft amendment to the Gambling Act that would end the online casino monopoly currently held by state-owned Win2Day.
The draft introduces new player protection rules and proposes a framework that would allow an unlimited number of online casino licences.
Meanwhile, operators that previously served Austrian customers without a local licence could be brought into compliance by settling outstanding court judgments and paying unpaid tax liabilities in Austria.
Under the draft law, sports betting would continue to be classified as a game of skill rather than gambling, meaning it would remain outside a unified federal framework and continue to be regulated at the state level.
The new draft amendment to the Austrian Gambling Act has not yet entered formal parliamentary proceedings
