Does chance only play a minor role?
The effects of the Casinos Austria affair and the corona crisis are still noticeable, but wopossible the state-owned gaming group Casinos Austria is already confronted with the next real scandal: According to statements from the Spielehilfe.at association, the payout quotas of slot machines are said to be controlled. After months of research, the association concluded that there could be no question of coincidence.
Players' Aid.at explained that Austria's gambling law actually defines gambling as a predominantly chance-based activity. At Casinos Austria, however, chance only plays a minor role, as payout statistics that have been analyzed since October prove. Accordingly, there were no increased payouts at the beginning of the month, although many more customers played during this time than at the end of the month.
Towards the end of the month, however, increased payouts were reported, although far fewer customers were playing. According to Spielehilfe.at, this situation is as striking as it is irritating, because the payouts should actually increase when more customers play. This is at least the case when there are fixed payout rates that are tied to random generators. Therefore, Casinos Austria's odds are obviously being manipulated.
According to Christoph Holubar, spokesman for Spielehilfe.at, who has been campaigning for improved player protection for years, controlling the quotas ensures that Casinos Austria's sales increase. This would make players stay longer in the casino. The longer the customer plays, the better it is for the casino, which collects part of the stake as profit per game. It is also explosive that control is actually permitted under the Austrian Gambling Act, provided that the prescribed quota is adhered to at the end of the financial year. We have received a statement from the Ministry of Finance in this regard.
Casinos on the verge of legality?
A change in the distribution of winnings within the legal limits does not constitute manipulation; according to the Ministry of Finance, this emerges from the country's so-called slot machine gambling regulations. Holubar explained that Casinos Austria, whose main shareholder is now the Czech Sazka Group, strictly adheres to these legal requirements. However, the legal requirements are nowhere near high enough to speak of a level of protection.
Especially when it comes to slot machines, Casinos Austria would make full use of the possibilities offered by the legislation. The group always adheres to the prescribed payout ratio at the end of the year. Nevertheless, the company can maximize its sales by controlling quotas. This model is extremely disadvantageous for the guests of casinos and casinos.
This approach has little to do with serious gambling or chance, according to the club spokesman in a recently released documentary by Larissa Breitenegger and Markus Schwarz, which was published on the Austrian online portal ZackZack. Also larger news agencies like Press release have now taken up the topic. The main criticism is that Casinos Austria is a partially state-owned company from which a high level of player protection can actually be expected. Casinos Austria has not yet responded to press inquiries.
Payout statistics published
Casinos Austria's payout statistics were