OGH Styria online sports betting refund claim (2023) (OGH): Status, Rulings and What It Means for Players

What this case is about

OGH 1 Ob 176/22x is a judgment of the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, first senate) of 27 January 2023 on a player's attempt to recover sports betting losses. A player with habitual residence in Styria sued a Maltese operator that held a Maltese licence but no Austrian licence.

The player claimed EUR 48,259.25 plus interest, lost on live sports bets between 24 October 2019 and 21 April 2020.

The case was filed in 2021 and reached the OGH as a revision from the Oberlandesgericht Graz (2 R 118/22y-56, 2 September 2022). The Landesgericht für ZRS Graz had handled it as 22 Cg 84/21h-47 (24 May 2022).

The claims relied on the Steiermärkisches Wettengesetz 2018, § 879 Abs 1 ABGB (nullity), Art 6 Rome I Regulation and Art 15 Abs 1 B-VG. The case belongs to the wider field of online casino refund litigation in Germany and Austria.

Who is covered

The case is an individual action. The plaintiff is the Styrian player, represented by Dr. Peter Ozlberger, and the defendant is the Maltese company I* Ltd, represented by Stadler Völkel Rechtsanwälte GmbH.

The reasoning reaches sports betting by players in Austria against operators offering bets from abroad. It is one entry in the list of gambling lawsuits in Austria.

Is there a payout?

No payout exists for players in this case. The OGH dismissed the claim of EUR 48,259.25 and ordered the plaintiff to pay costs of EUR 1,858.35 to the defendant.

The record shows no fund and no claim process.

What the court decided

The OGH dismissed the revision on 27 January 2023. It held that sports bets are not part of the federal gambling monopoly but a matter for the Länder under Art 15 B-VG.

The Steiermärkisches Wettengesetz governs only betting conduct inside Styria. Online bets offered from abroad are therefore not covered, and there is no gap to fill by analogy. A breach of the act would not make the betting contracts void under § 879 Abs 1 ABGB.

The Court added that contractual duties to protect addicted players arise only in extreme cases of known existential threat. The claim of lack of legal capacity (Geschäftsunfähigkeit) was not maintained. As of 14 November 2026 the status is dismissed, dated 27 January 2023.

Why it matters

This was the OGH's first ruling on the Styrian betting act and on online sports betting.

It is the anchor of the Austrian line that keeps sports betting losses outside the refund wave, which is different from the casino refund cases. Later OGH decisions from Tyrol (8 Ob 112/23p) and Vienna (9 Ob 76/25d) follow it.

Readers weighing recovery routes can compare outcomes in the guide on how to get gambling losses back country by country.

Questions people ask

Can I get sports betting losses back in Austria?

Not on this reasoning. The OGH held that the Styrian betting act does not reach online bets offered from abroad and that a breach would not void the contracts. The claim of EUR 48,259.25 was dismissed.

Does the Austrian gambling monopoly cover sports bets?

No. The OGH held that sports bets are a Länder matter under Art 15 B-VG, not part of the federal gambling monopoly.

Who pays the costs of the case?

The plaintiff. The OGH ordered the player to pay the defendant EUR 1,858.35 in costs.

Related cases

• OGH 8 Ob 112/23p: the 13 December 2023 ruling that over/under bets are sports bets and that the Tyrolean act does not ban internet bets.
• OGH 9 Ob 76/25d: the 23 October 2025 ruling that bets on e-sports football are sports bets and that the Viennese act does not apply to online bets from outside Vienna.
• OGH 6 Ob 45/16k: the 30 May 2016 Goldbet judgment on unilateral cancellation of multiple bets, with EUR 464,806.96 awarded.
• BGH I ZR 90/23: the German Federal Court of Justice sports betting case, stayed after a referral to the EU Court.
• C-530/24: the CJEU case that carries the referral from BGH I ZR 90/23.