Con artist in custody

Shell game player: “With intelligence you can find a ball”

The two defendants played different roles in the fraud.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Gerhard Bartel)

Is it commercial fraud or bad luck in a game of skill? This legal question was discussed on Wednesday at a trial against two shell game players in the Vienna Regional Court. The judge gave a clear answer. 

An exciting legal question was discussed on Wednesday in Vienna's Landl. The accused are two men from Kosovo who earned money with shell games in Vienna's city center in 39 campaigns - in addition to the game maker, there are fictitious players, know-it-alls, game animators and supervisors in their scam.

I didn't know it was illegal.

Sagte ausgerechnet jener Angeklagte, der als Aufpasser agierte.

The hat is always the wrong one
"The fraud is not the manipulation per se, but the interaction of several accomplices," says the public prosecutor, referring to a Supreme Court ruling. She is investigating 20 players. Passers-by are deceived, from whom 50 bills are skilfully extracted. Gang members pretend to be passers-by and win a round or two. The spectators are amazed. Whoever gets in now has already lost. Because no matter which shell someone puts their money on, it's always the wrong one.

No evidence of manipulation
The defense lawyers do not see any fraud: "The chance of winning is 1 in 3. It cannot be proven that the carpet or cones were manipulated," they say, referring to a game of skill. "If you're a bit intelligent, you can find the ball," the defendants assert.

"I didn't know it was illegal," says one of the two men. "You were stopped countless times by the police. How can you now say that you didn't know that?" replies Judge Mathias Funk. "Because I was released again and again," was the answer.

The verdicts are already final
In November 2024, however, the handcuffs clicked. The pre-trial detention has now resulted in a final conviction. This is because Mr. Rat considers the offences to be commercial fraud. He sentenced the con artists to 12 months in prison each, three of them unconditional.