Yes! In Austria, the gambling monopoly also applies to poker. The right to play games of chance (including online games of chance) is reserved for the federal government in Austria (= gambling monopoly, § 3 Gambling Act GSpG). The Federal Minister of Finance can transfer the right to carry out the draws by granting a license (Section 14 (1) GSpG).
Is poker even a game of chance?
Yes! Section 1 (2) GSpG determines the gambling characteristics for roulette, observation roulette, poker , blackjack, two aces, bingo, keno, baccarat and baccarat chemi de fer and their game variants. This regulation was preceded by several highest court / last-instance decisions:
Their legal implementation is only permitted with a license under the Gambling Act. Only Casino Austria AG, the operator of win2day, has such a license in Austria. All other online casinos do not have a license and therefore offer online poker illegally.
What was paid on the basis of an unauthorized and therefore ineffective gambling contract can be recovered. Therefore, the money lost while playing poker can be successfully reclaimed from the online casino.