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Why Austria classifies sports betting as a game of skill, while it counts as gambling across Europe. The statutory basis, the supreme court case law and the consequences for the recovery of losses.
Austrians know bwin above all as a sports betting brand with Viennese roots, but it also offers an online casino. This dual character is exactly what decides recovery. Casino losses are recoverable under the settled case law of the Austrian Supreme Court on unjust enrichment, because the casino offer holds no concession. Betting losses follow a different, considerably harder logic. A practitioner's perspective from attorney Dr. Oliver Peschel.
Platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi let users bet on almost anything, from election outcomes to outdoor temperatures on a given day. The operators argue that they run financial instruments, not gambling. From an Austrian perspective this construction is to be approached with caution. For a substantial share of the bets chance prevails over skill, which makes a classification as unlicensed gambling plausible. For players this opens up recovery prospects without exposing them to penalties for participating.