04-04-04 Austrians spent 177 euros per capita last year gambling online

According to a research conducted by Berlin-based Goldmedia, in 2005 Germans spent EUR 3.3 billion (40 euros per capita) betting online, while their neighbors in Austria spent EUR 1.3 billion and the Swiss spent EUR 0.3 billion (36 euros per capita).

The study believes that these differences are due to different regulations. Unsurprisingly, the study found that "liberal legislation on gambling apparently increases the intensity of gambling considerably among the general public."

While all three countries have a ban on private gambling providers, Austrian law exempts sports betting from this ban. In addition, state providers in Austria can use the internet as a sales channel, while online gambling is only tolerated in exceptional cases in Germany and outlawed completely in Switzerland. More than half of the online gambling in Austria took place with state operators, who make up less than 20 per cent of the market in Germany.

The limited offer of legal gambling in Germany and Switzerland has led to an extremely large share of foreign providers on the online markets there.

"If the government does not want to lose this revenue and its control of the Internet as a sales channel that is becoming increasingly important, online casinos and betting web sites that can be controlled nationally and are competitive internationally will have to be admissible in Germany," says the study's author, Michael Schmid.