Here's a look at how the Austrian Government is handling Internet gambling. In amendment to the gambling law in 1996, Parliament gave Net betting the green light, with the stipulation that the activity and transactions are exclusively domestic.
The most pertinent section is paragraph 56, which says that it's forbidden to accept wagers for foreign games of chance within Austrian boundaries. Furthermore it's not allowed to provide or to enable the providing of possibilities for a participation in foreign games of chance.
The following is an English translation of the §56:
§56 (1) Prohibited is:
- the receipt of stake (or investment in this sense) for foreign gambling at home (in Austria).
- to offer possibilities to participate in foreign gambling at home (in Austria).
(2) The offense against the prohibition under (1) leads to a fine up to $300,000 (if you act against it with intent), otherwise you have to pay up to $40 000.
(3) Prohibited is also the participate in foreign gambling, even if the money invested comes from Austrian accounts. If you act against this law with intent you need to pay a fine up to $100,000, otherwise a fine up to $ 20,000 is due.
(in addition to § 56):
This law is also applicable to the new technologies like the Internet. Excluded are the hardware and software producer, but also software and hardware dealer.