Bet-at-home faces €2.8m payout in Austrian player losses case

Austria’s Supreme Court has ordered Betclic Everest subsidiary Bet-at-home to pay €2.8m in player losses nearly three years after it withdrew from the market.

The case related to a player that was deemed a gambling addict by the court and incurred significant losses on Bet-at-home’s site between August 2018 and July 2020. As an addict, the court said, the plaintiff was “legally incapacitated” while participating in online gambling.

Its Bet-at-Home Entertainment subsidiary – since wound up – had previously set aside €2.3m to settle the case.

The ruling dates back to May 2022 and relates to the group’s now defunct Malta business, Bet-at-home.com Entertainment Ltd. Although the subsidiary is in liquidation, parent company Bet-at-home AG and its other Malta subsidiary Bet-at-home.com Internet Ltd are held liable for reimbursing the losses by the court.

Bet-at-home is assessing the impact the payout will have on its 2024 revenue forecast of €45m to €53m, it said in a statement dated 21 August. In its July H1 earnings report it estimated it would report EBITDA in the range of negative €1m to a positive €2.5m figure.

Austria operates a monopoly for online casino, held by Casinos Austria subsidiary Win2Day. Other online brands are limited to offering sports betting.

While the Austrian government did talk about re-regulating the market in February 2021, including a new gambling regulator, plans have not progressed since. It was also unclear whether this re-regulation would open up verticals such as icasino to other brands.

Player losses case forces Bet-at-home from Austrian icasino market
It withdrew from the Austrian online casino market in October 2021, in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that determined foreign igaming brands were illegally operating in the country. That meant contracts with players were invalid, giving customers scope to sue to recoup gambling losses.

Following a series of layoffs, Bet-at-home started winding up the Malta subsidiary in January 2022. Austrian icasino was its main business function and, with that shut down, it was unable to continue as a going concern management said at the time. Bet-at-home continues to offer sports betting in Austria, however, through a separate subsidiary.

The Austria shutdown had a significant financial impact on the wider group as it subsequently initiated an internal review and surrendered its in-house platform in favour of EveryMatrix’s tech stack.

UK and Switzerland troubles at to Bet-at-home woes
The business then suffered a further setback after its UK licence was suspended by the Gambling Commission, prompting it to withdraw from the UK market entirely in July 2022. In September 2022 it then warned it may not have sufficient liquidity to meet financial obligations.

It faces further pain in Switzerland, where another court ruling in July this year suggests it owes a hefty VAT bill.

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court decision states Bet-at-home.com Internet Ltd is liable to pay €1.3m in VAT on gambling activity between 2014 and 2017, then a further €2.7m in VAT covering 2018 to June 2024. The operator plans to appeal the verdict.

Will ECJ settle player losses question once and for all?
Cases of players chasing losses from operators have plagued operators in Austria and its neighbour Germany for years, with courts typically ruling in favour of the player.

However a landmark case in August saw a customer in Austria ordered to return their winnings to an unlicensed – and unnamed – operator. Media reports suggest Bet365 is the operator in question.

The European Court of Justice is now taking on the issue of player losses. Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has raised the matter to the ECJ, meaning all civil proceedings in the country are suspended until the European courts rule on the matter.