Austrian gambling addict wins 2.5m euros compensation
The man was "partially incapacitated" through his addiction, which rendered his bets invalid.
VIENNA (AFP) - An Austrian court has ordered a gambling company to pay 2.5 million euros ($2.87m) to a gambler the court found was under the influence of addiction, in a judgement made public on Monday.
The complainant said that over a period of 10 years starting in 2002 he spent around two million euros ($2.3 million) in slot machines run by the Novomatic company in the capital Vienna.
According to an expert opinion heard by the court in the town of Wiener Neustadt, the man was "partially incapacitated" through his addiction, which rendered his bets invalid.
Novomatic, which is based near Wiener Neustadt, is one of the world’s biggest gambling technology companies with operations in dozens of countries worldwide. It said it will appeal the judgement.
In 2015 municipal authorities in Vienna banned slot machines outside casinos to combat gambling addiction. The city had around 2,600 such machines before the ban came into force.
