Major Failings in Age Verification by Austrian Lotteries Raise Concerns

During its investigation, Spielerhilfe carried out 175 test purchases of lottery products in three federal states: Lower Austria, Upper Austria, and Salzburg. The objective was to assess the compliance of Austrian Lotteries with the age restriction laws.

Shocking results emerged, with 55% of the test purchases revealing no age verification checks at all. Even though the minimum age limit was 16, it was raised to 18 after July 10, 2023. Christoph Holubar, the chairman and spokesman for Spielerhilfe, expressed grave concern, stating, “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 apparently has big problems controlling its sales partners.”

One of the most alarming revelations was related to the 2019 Salzburg Youth Act, which prohibited individuals under the age of 18 from participating in games of chance. Spielerhilfe found that, despite this clear legal prohibition, many products were being sold to individuals over the age of 16 in Salzburg, directly violating the law.

“The lotteries ignored the legal situation in Salzburg and illegally sold their products to a target group that was too young through the sales outlets,” Holubar stated. “In doing so, the company apparently risked that its contractual partners would continually violate applicable laws and commit administrative offenses.”

In light of these findings, Spielerhilfe has reported 34 responsible gaming violations to the Salzburg authorities. These revelations underscore the urgent need for Austrian Lotteries to implement more robust and effective age verification processes to protect minors from the potential harm of gambling.