On Tuesday, Austria’s Ministry of Finance took a significant step towards reforming its gambling regulations by submitting a draft overhaul to the European Commission. This submission starts a mandatory three-month standstill period before any new legislation can come into effect.
During this time, the Commission will review the draft and may raise concerns regarding state aid or single market regulations. Notably, Austria’s parliamentary processes will continue concurrently with this review.
This proposed overhaul marks one of the most substantial changes to Austria's gambling regulations in recent years, targeting enhanced controls on online gambling, improving player protections, and modernizing licensing and supervision frameworks.
Key elements of the draft law include the introduction of a national exclusion register, which aims to consolidate self-exclusions and operator-imposed bans across casino gaming, slot machines, and online platforms. This register is designed to stop excluded players from exploiting loopholes by switching between different gambling products or operators.
Further provisions in the draft include mandated deposit limits for online gambling and slot machine play, with stricter limits imposed on young adults aged between 18 and 26 to provide enhanced protection for this more vulnerable demographic. The legislation also proposes reducing maximum stakes and slowing down the pace of slot machine games. Additionally, players will be required to take a break after 90 minutes of continuous play to prevent excessive gambling.
Operators will have a statutory obligation to evaluate the potential for addiction in their gambling products, contributing to broader efforts in research and policy aimed at reducing gambling-related harm.
Regarding market access, the draft law proposes open licensing for online gambling operators, with transitional rules in place. Those currently operating illegally will need to stop their operations by January 1, 2027, to qualify for a license. Failure to comply will result in an 18-month waiting period, extending to 24 months from 2030. Applicants must also settle any outstanding tax obligations and address unpaid claims from about 20,000 affected players, an effort aimed at closing historical enforcement gaps.
The Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG) has expressed skepticism regarding the effectiveness of the transitional period, suggesting it may lead to a rise in black market operations rather than increased patronage of licensed entities like Win2Day or legitimate land-based operators.
To enhance oversight, the reform will incorporate a digital supervisory platform with a central, operator-independent deposit limit. Tools like payment blocking, blacklisting, and network blocking will be employed to deter illegal operators from serving Austrian customers, thereby encouraging players to engage with licensed platforms.
The legislation proposes a ceiling of 13 casino licenses, which may be allotted in packages. Authorities are to ensure that competition among casinos remains manageable and that there is a balanced geographic distribution of licenses to bolster player protection.
Former Casinos Austria employee Niklas Sattler has suggested that granting individual concessions would be a fairer method for market entry. Meanwhile, Casinos Austria, currently monopolizing the casino sector, is advocating for the licensing packages to remain intact. Sattler anticipates that one package of six and another of seven licenses may ultimately be placed up for tender, enabling a larger player like Merkur to enter the market while excluding smaller enterprises.
Sattler voiced concerns about the fairness of this approach, stating, "We believe it’s quite unfair." Political analyst Felix Geyer expressed doubts about the timeline for license issuance, remarking, "Given how slow political processes in Austria can be, I’m sceptical about whether they will be able to hand out licenses within 12 months, especially since I don’t expect them to begin before the law actually comes into force."
If the timeline holds, the market could open as planned in October 2027.
