Six-figure winnings

Sports betting king collected welfare benefits: sentenced

Concealed luck in the game brought the soccer fan before the judge.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/dpa/dpaweb)

A 34-year-old man had the right instinct for soccer betting or was simply lucky. He made six-figure winnings. But because he continued to collect minimum benefits, the betting king had to answer to a lay assessor's court in Vienna on Tuesday for commercial fraud.

"The whole gimmick, it wasn't a fixed income. The minimum income was like a security for me. If things went badly with the betting," said the 34-year-old defendant on Tuesday in the Vienna Provincial Court, where he is on trial for aggravated commercial fraud. The young father from Vienna was addicted to betting, specifically he was addicted to soccer betting. And he was also successful, as the indictment shows. He is said to have won 283,075 euros, or received 283,075 euros from his father for betting. However, he did not declare the winnings in his applications for minimum benefits.  

The minimum income was like a security for me. If things went badly with betting.

Mario S. im Wiener Landl 

Winnings are income
"He has applied for minimum income ten times in total since 2018 and received 52,745 euros from municipal department 40, even though he had enough income from the sports betting winnings," the public prosecutor begins the hearing. The law stipulates that such winnings count as actual income. "Of course, he not only won, but also lost like any gambler. It's like roulette," says lawyer Normann Hofstätter, who is defending Mario S. "From my point of view, he lost more than he won."

The confessed defendant with lawyer Normann Hofstätter(Bild: Anja Richter, Krone KREATIV)

The former betting addict pleaded guilty during the trial: "I gave up gambling completely and had myself banned everywhere. I realize that I made a mistake," affirms Mario S., who has since found a job.

Of course, he not only won, but also lost like every player. It's like roulette.

Anwalt Normann Hofstätter

Two years conditional prison sentence
The case was uncovered by the money laundering reporting office. The bank had become suspicious about the deposits, some of which were in the six-figure range, and reported them to the public prosecutor's office. After a brief deliberation, the lay assessor's court handed down the guilty verdict: two years' conditional imprisonment. The defendant accepts and must expect that MA 40 will reclaim the 52,745 euros.