A leaked draft law has posited an end to Austria’s monopoly on casino gaming - but with tough conditions for future licensees.
After months of delays and false starts, the Austrian Finance Ministry has finalised a draft law setting out its plans for the future regulation of the gambling industry. On the top of the agenda is a long-awaited move away from its current monopoly, allowing multiple licensees into the online casino market.
According to a leaked draft obtained by iGB: “several providers will be able to offer online gambling in Austria in future” under a “strictly regulated licensing system”.
This, the ministry said, would help channel players away from the illegal market and create “the highest possible standards of player protection”.
At present, only one licence is available in Austria for lotteries and online gaming products. This 15-year permit is held by Austrian Lotteries’ brand Win2day – a subsidiary of Casinos Austria, which also holds all 12 land-based casino licences.
According to the draft, lotteries would remain a monopoly, while online casinos would be available to an uncapped number of operators.
These would initially be granted for just five years, with a chance to further extend them by 10.
The step towards a liberal market is likely to be welcomed by international operators, who have been clamouring for an opening of the market for years. However, access to the new licensing regime is likely to come at a high cost.
“Operators may only qualify for a licence by settling outstanding Austrian court rulings and paying Austrian taxes – including for the past,” Arthur Stadler, a Vienna-based lawyer specialising in gambling law, tells iGB.
This includes settling player claims rulings and ensuring there are no gaps in taxation during the years that companies have operated in Austria.
Stadler believes these “incredibly high sums” could serve to lock smaller operators out of the market, acting as a de facto cap on licences. Nevertheless, he says, the lack of a formal cap is an extremely positive decision.
The draft also proposes sweeping new player protection measures, including strict deposit and staking limits. Under the proposed rules, players under the age of 26 would be limited to depositing €250 per week with an operator, while older players would face a maximum weekly deposit limit of €1,680. This could, however, be lifted if players were able to prove “sufficient liquidity”.
Maximum stakes would be capped at €2 per spin or game – significantly lower than the current €5 or €10 thresholds. In addition, maximum winnings would be reduced to €2,000 from the current €5,000 or €10,000 limits, and jackpots would be banned entirely.
The reforms also proposed mandatory cooling-off periods for online players. These would require players to take a 15-minute break after 90 minutes of continuous play.
Significantly, protections from the land-based market – including on speed-of-play – would be transferred into the digital sphere. “This ensures that online gambling is subject to the same high standards of player protection as land-based slot machine gambling,” the draft reads.
Online gaming would also be subject to continuous monitoring, with a national self-exclusion scheme run through the regulator.
The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), who head up the Finance Ministry, initially set out these proposals in a first draft of the new gambling law released in January. Their plans originally included an extension of the gambling monopoly, but this was swiftly withdrawn after significant backlash from the party’s coalition partners.
Uncertain timeline for Austria iGaming liberalisation Though the industry is eagerly waiting for the starting gun to fire, it may be a number of years before the first licences are issued.
Win2Day’s current licence is due to expire in 2027, along with a number of land-based licences, that are currently held by Casinos Austria. However, the draft suggests that these may be extended if the concessions process takes longer than expected – for example, due to legal challenges.
There is also likely to be a long wait for the establishment of an independent gambling authority. This could be set up “by 2030”, meaning the new concessions would be granted by the Ministry of Finance.
With the current draft subject to further negotiations between the three coalition partners – the SPÖ, the liberal NEOS and the centre-right ÖVP – there could also be changes on the horizon. However, these would need to be finalised in time for a parliamentary vote before the summer recess in early July.
Summarising his views on the potential reforms, Simon Priglinger-Simader, president of the ÖVWG trade association, says he is “feeling more hopeful than ever”. However, he adds, some “tricky points” remain that will have to be thrashed out in the coming days.
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