The Austrian player protection body and gambling addiction advisory body Spielerhilfe has accused Austrian Lotteries Österreichische Lotterien of “continued gross misconduct” in failing to protect youth, SBC News reported October 18.
The body used “mystery shopping checks” on point of sale terminals in Salzburg and Upper Austria. In April, Spielerhilfe reported 70 youth protection violations.
This prompted the lottery to increase the minimum age for purchasing lottery products from 16 to 18 years. However, the most recent checks found that 60 percent of retail outlets sold to minors.
Österreichische Lotterien is owned by Casinos Austria, a subsidiary of Allwyn International.
Failures of compliance can bring down fines of from €250 to €14,600 and possible prison time.
Spielerhilfe Chairman Christoph Holubar said in a statement: “The protection of minors is still not guaranteed. In more than half of all test purchases, children were able to purchase Austrian Lottery products, even though they are only available to those aged 18 and over. The company has big problems controlling its sales partners.”
The lottery is accused of violating the “Salzburg Youth Act” in that it failed to inform retail outlets of the change in age requirements.
Holubar accused the lottery of knowingly “targeting a vulnerable age group susceptible to gambling addiction.” It detailed 24 violations of the Youth Act and recommended an “integrity review” by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
Holubar declared, “The protection of young game participants is an absolute basic requirement that fails here. That is why the responsible authorities should now check whether the Austrian lotteries actually have the necessary reliability to be able to continue to keep the license.”
