Date of Publication: March 3, 2026, 11:49 AM.
Latest Update: March 3, 2026, 11:49 AM.
- Austrian authorities bring corruption charges in the Casinos Austria controversy
- Johann Graf, founder of Novomatic, accused of influence peddling
- Case reignites issues stemming from the Strache video scandal
Authorities in Austria have leveled corruption charges against Johann Graf, the billionaire founder of Novomatic, as part of the enduring Casinos Austria political controversy.
At the age of 80, Graf launched Novomatic in 1980, transforming it into one of the foremost gaming technology conglomerates globally. He faces accusations of “active trading in influence” tied to the appointment of a far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) individual to the Casinos Austria board seven years prior.
Also facing charges are Heinz-Christian Strache, former Vice-Chancellor of Austria and FPÖ leader, alongside Harald Neumann, the ex-CEO of Novomatic and subsequently CEO of Australian gaming behemoth Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT).
Neumann resigned from AGT in October 2025 after he was denied licensing in Nevada, partially due to not disclosing the ongoing investigation to regulators.
The Sidlo Appointment
During the national elections in Austria in 2017, Strache’s FPÖ secured 26% of the vote, paving the way for a coalition government with the Conservative Party.
In March 2019, a district councilor from FPÖ in Vienna’s 9th district, Peter Sidlo, was appointed as CFO of Casinos Austria, despite lacking prior executive experience or a background in the gaming industry.
Casinos Austria holds the exclusive federal license for terrestrial casino operations in the nation, with one-third of its ownership resting with the Austrian state through its holding entity, ÖBAG. At that time, Novomatic also held a significant stake of 17.19% in the company.
Austrian prosecutors now assert that Graf and Neumann advocated for Sidlo’s appointment in exchange for favorable influence from the FPÖ.
The executives allegedly sought Strache’s help to push the government to deregulate the casino industry, challenging Casinos Austria’s long-standing monopoly. They also aimed to overturn a regulation that prohibited gaming arcades in Vienna, as per the prosecution’s claims.
This maneuver could potentially have allowed Novomatic to establish a casino in the Austrian capital while saturating the city’s arcades with its gaming products.
Novomatic has consistently refuted these allegations, labeling them as “baseless,” and expressing a willingness to obtain clarity through an independent judicial process.
The Video Sting
Merely two months following Sidlo’s appointment, Strache was compelled to resign after a secretly recorded video surfaced, wherein he allegedly offered state contracts in exchange for cash to an individual posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch.
Within this apparent sting operation, Strache and the woman discussed acquiring one of Austria’s major tabloids to secure favorable coverage for the FPÖ, along with strategies for concealing political donations.
In the video, Strache mentioned Novomatic and various other firms, asserting that they made contributions to the FPÖ by channeling funds through non-profit organizations to evade scrutiny, an allegation that Novomatic has also dismissed.
The identities of those responsible for the sting, which ultimately led to the collapse of the coalition government, have never been conclusively identified.