NOVOMATIC OREDERED TO PAY 2.5M EURO INDEMNITY TO A PROBLEM GAMBLER

Austrian operator Novomatic will need to pay €2.5m in compensation to a gambling addict who for years wagered on the company’s slot machines offer.

The Wiener Neustadt Regional High Court assessed the player as a problem gambler. Based on the evidence of medical experts, he was only “partially able” to control his customer behavior. In the historic period 2002-2012, he has allegedly lost at least EUR 2 million on slot games.

The Court also ascertained the Novomatic Group had violated the Austrian gambling law, by accepting higher-than-prescribed stakes.

The Company, which announced it will file appeal to the judgement, is not first time at courts on the issue. In 2014, a judgement ruled the Novomatic to pay an Austrian player €800,000 in a similar case. Likewise, country’s Federal Court ordered the removal of slot machines from the center of Vienna in 2017, as they were non-compliant with the concession granted.

For Novomatic, this legal defeat can spark а series of similar lawsuits. In Austria, more than 60k players reportedly experienced some forms of problem gambling symptoms. However, the exact number of those affected by this type of slot offer remains indefinite.