Potential closure of poker casinos in Austria.
Towards the end of the year, there could be some trouble for Austria's Concord Card Casinos (CCC), as their poker license is set to expire and the company is insolvent. However, the poker-enthusiast owner, Peter Zanoni, is not ready to give up just yet. He's got some plans up his sleeve.
Poker turmoil in Austria
There's plenty of chatter in the Austrian poker community about the possible shutdown of Concord Card Casinos. The Viennese newspaper Kurier recently published an article, suggesting that the poker casinos will have to shut their doors by the end of this year. Peter Zanoni, the founder of the company, is said to have informed his employees that the closure is imminent.
If this happens, it could spell bad news for private poker providers in Austria. The reason for the closure is the new law from 2013, which requires all poker in Austria to be played in state-owned casinos from 2020. Zanoni's license will expire on December 31, 2019. He operates 12 casinos in Austria, most of which run under the name Concord Card Casino, with the exception of the Montesino in Vienna. As of now, online poker is not being considered as an alternative.
The importance of Vienna casinos
The Austrian capital has two casinos that are famous for their poker tournaments. Both have seen many celebrities like Boris Becker, Pamela Anderson, Klaus Eberhartinger, and Daniel Negreanu in action. The Montesino, considered one of the most significant poker venues in Europe, has even hosted two of the biggest poker tournaments in the history of the game: the European Poker Tour (EPT) and the World Poker Tour (WPT). It was even featured in the James Bond film "Casino Royale." Unfortunately, other German poker casinos haven't been able to live up to the reputation of these Vienna locations.
Sticking around
Despite all the rumors, it seems that the doors of these poker palaces won't be closing anytime soon. CCC's owner, Zanoni, issued an invitation to a press conference in Vienna (11/11) to clear up the confusion about his casinos' future. In a surprising turn of events, Zanoni announced that the casinos will remain open in 2020. He believes that the legal material for monopoly enforcement is not applicable. But how will Zanoni take action against the law?
Legal battle
Zanoni is advocating for a "coherence check under EU law" of Austria's new gambling legislation. He has submitted a complaint to the Constitutional Court (VfGH) and plans to file an appeal with the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Additionally, he intends to lobby members of the National Council for a change in the law. Initially, this will involve an "extension of the transition period" and a "clarification of the Fees Act."
Financial woes
However, the expiring poker license is not the only issue Zanoni is facing. It's been clear since last year that CCC, the biggest poker casino chain in Austria, is insolvent. The bankruptcy proceedings were initiated by credit protection associations AKV (Alpenländischer Kreditorenverband) and Creditreform due to tax debts of around 203 million euros with a balance of only about 572,000 euros.
According to Stephan Mazal (Creditreform), the Austrian tax authorities have filed four bankruptcy petitions with the Ministry of Finance, three of which are already in negotiation. The equity ratio of the group of companies was an astounding negative 5,472%. In 2017, the "negative equity" amounted to 130,478,8800.34 million euros. The balance sheet loss was recently estimated at 131.26 million euros, emphasizing the severity of the situation.
Battling authorities for over two decades
Zanoni has been fighting legal battles with the Austrian authorities for over two decades. In the recent past, Zanoni has lost all pending proceedings from 2017 at the Austrian Administrative Court (VwGH). The most recent case, a court case in Vorarlberg from the beginning of May, involved a war victim levy of 97.6 million euros for his CCC casino there. The AKV has even recorded a major insolvency with CBA Spielapparate - und Restaurationsbetriebs GmbH, where Zanoni was involved.
This time around, the tax disputes involving the Austrian Ministry of Finance's legal team, known as Finanzprokuratur, led to the bankruptcy of Zanoni. For years, Zanoni considered himself a victim of high taxes, with his business being in constant danger from these often significant tax requirements. A video discussing the issue was uploaded onto Concord Poker TV's YouTube channel earlier this week.
Despite the potential job losses affecting over 600 employees, the business operations of the poker casinos have remained unscathed by the ongoing debates. Concord Poker Vienna celebrated its 26th anniversary not too long ago. The preparatory events for Concord Million (28th November to 10th December), a major tournament in the local poker scene, proceeded as planned as well. However, whether the poker venues will hold up from the turn of the new year is still uncertain.
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Source: www.onlinecasinosdeutschland.com
