Chief executive departs from Casinos Austria.
Bettina Glatz-Kremsner, of Austrian Casinos Austria (CASAG), will not be renewing her contract set to expire in April 2022. If a successor is found beforehand, she might resign sooner. The decision to leave is voluntary. She recently came under fire due to staff cuts. What upcoming changes could take place?
Contentment from Casinos Austria's Shareholders
Glatz-Kremsner, a 58-year-old former politician, doesn't plan to continue leading Casinos Austria. As her contract ends in April 2022, she won't oversee the company anymore. Although no official confirmation has emerged, sources suggest the announcement was made at a Supervisory Board meeting on March 30, 2021.
Glatz-Kremsner may also depart early if a successor is appointed prior to the end of her contract. No reason has been revealed, but she's voluntarily resigning. After her controversial ReFIT plan and its subsequent job cuts, she has drawn criticism.
The main shareholder of Casinos Austria—the Czech Sazka Group, which possesses over 53% of the partly state-owned gambling monopoly—and ÖBAG, the Austrian holding company owning over 33%, have praised her work. The former politician's background includes:- 1990-1990: Operations Manager at Austrian Lotteries- 1991-1997: Head of Hungarian subsidiary Lotto Union- 1998-2010: Assistant to the Management Board of CASAG- 2010-2019: Member of the Management Board of CASAG- 2019 onwards: General Director of CASAG- 2017: Elected Deputy Chairman of the Austrian People's Party
Gambling Reforms Possibly Causing Renunciation?
Austria is going through a gambling reform that targets unlinking gambling and politics. Previously, supervision was solely handled by the Ministry of Finance. Due to Glatz-Kremsner's political history, the reform might be driving her resignation.
Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler called the reform "a reform of the century." He explained that the entire gambling sector would be transformed into an independent body. For now, only a judicial licensing senate has been confirmed to oversee the license process. There's also a push for increased transparency and compliance standards.
NEOS and FPÖ have voiced concerns. FPÖ chair Norbert Hofer claims the gambling monopoly should be eliminated for the new authority to make sense. They argue the process is just a rushed attempt to divert attention from the Ibiza U Committee's scrutiny of the Finance Minister and Federal Chancellor.
Possible Sanctions for CASAG
The Austrian government followed up on the new gambling authority announcement with more controversial regulations. These could lead to severe consequences for CASAG. Some of the company's gaming arcades will be forced to shut down, while there's a potential ban on VLT gaming machines.
VLTs are primarily used by Österreichische Lotterien, CASAG's subsidiary, with 862 VLTs spread across 21 gaming facilities. However, these machines are mainly found in locations where small games of chance are prohibited.
Managing Director Glatz-Kremsner stated that the value of these VLT machines is €45 million.
Paraphrased Text:
The managing director of Austrian Casinos Austria, Bettina Glatz-Kremsner, won't renew her contract ending in April 2022. If her replacement's found before April 2022, she might step down before her term concludes. This is her independent decision. Due to staff cuts, Glatz-Kremsner had face criticism.
Despite being criticized for staff reductions during the ReFIT plan, major shareholders—Czech Sazka Group (53% of CASAG) and ÖBAG (33% of shares)—praised her work. Glatz-Kremsner's career started as Austrian Lotteries' Operations Manager in 1990, then becoming head of the Hungarian subsidiary Lotto Union (1991-1997), until her 2019 promotion to General Director and a 2017 election as Deputy Chairman of the Austrian People's Party.
The government is reorganizing gambling in Austria. This includes setting up a new gambling administration to separate gambling and politics, with various potential consequences for CASAG. Recently, researchers at Osnabrück and Passau Universities argued that Austria's gambling law breaks EU law, arguing EU-licensed online gambling service providers are unfairly targeted for defending the CASAG monopoly.
The government's recent announcements include:- Closure of several CASAG arcades- Possibility of an outright VLT ban
Glatz-Kremsner's subsidiary Österreichische Lotterien uses VLTs across its 21 facilities. These machines, however, are primarily located in places where "small games of chance" aren't permitted.
The value of these 862 VLTs amounts to €45 million.
Meanwhile, the NEOS and FPÖ believe the gambling monopoly should be broken to justify the creation of the new authority. They consider it a rushed move to divert attention away from the Ibiza U Committee's pressure on Finance Minister Blümel and Federal Chancellor Kurz. In 2020, Vienna-based universities cited a violation of EU law concerning Austrian gambling legislation. Critics argue EU-licensed online gambling providers face discrimination to maintain the state monopoly of Casinos Austria.
Nevertheless, Glatz-Kremsner is puzzled as to why the planned ban concerns VLTs specifically. It's unfortunate that CASAG isn't involved in the political aspect, considering she was the deputy leader of ÖVP until 2019. The ex-politician and soon-to-be former CASAG head maintains that the legislative changes would result in significant financial losses.
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Source: www.onlinecasinosdeutschland.com
