After months of delays and revisions, the Austrian Ministry of Finance has finally finalized a draft for gambling regulation reform, aiming directly at continuing the long-standing monopoly of online casinos. According to the draft text leaked to iGB, "multiple operators will be able to offer online gambling services in Austria" in the future, but must operate under a "strictly regulated licensing system." The PASA official website learned that the Ministry of Finance claims this move will help guide players from the illegal market to compliant channels and create "the highest standard of player protection."
The monopoly is broken but the threshold is very high, and tax payment is a prerequisite for entry
Currently, Austria has only one license covering lottery and online gambling products, a 15-year permit held by Austrian Lotteries' brand Win2day, whose parent company Casinos Austria also holds licenses for all 12 national brick-and-mortar casinos. According to the draft, the lottery business will continue to be monopolized, while online casinos will be open to an unlimited number of operators—the initial license period is only 5 years, with a possible extension of 10 years. International operators have long called for market opening, which now seems possible, but the cost of entry could be quite heavy. Vienna gambling lawyer Arthur Stadler told iGB that operators can only apply for a license after settling existing Austrian court judgments and paying back Austrian taxes—"including past ones." This involves dealing with player claim judgments and filling the tax gaps during the company's operation period in Austria. Stadler believes these "extremely high amounts" might keep small operators out, essentially setting an implicit license cap, although he also affirmed the decision not to set a formal numerical limit is very positive.
Deposit limits and single bet limits are both reduced, enhancing player protection comprehensively
The draft proposes a series of significant tightening measures for player protection, cutting down on both deposits and bets: 1. Players under 26 have a weekly deposit limit of €250, those over 26 can deposit up to **€1,680**, but exemptions can be requested with proof of "sufficient liquidity"; 2. The maximum bet per game is reduced from the current €5 or €10 directly to **€2**; 3. The maximum prize is reduced from €5,000 or €10,000 to €2,000, and pool play is completely prohibited. Frankly, the €2 single bet limit will be a fundamental challenge for many operators' business models. Additionally, online players must take a mandatory break of 15 minutes after 90 consecutive minutes of play, and the player protection standards of physical venues—including game speed limits—will be transferred to the digital realm, ensuring "online gambling and physical slot gambling apply the same high standards of player protection." Online gambling will also be subject to continuous monitoring, and the regulatory authority will operate a national self-exclusion program.
The timeline is still uncertain, and the first license may take several years
Although the industry is eagerly awaiting, the issuance of the first license may still take several years. The existing license of Win2day will expire in 2027, and some of the brick-and-mortar casino licenses held by Casinos Austria will also expire at the same time, but the draft suggests that these licenses could be extended if the bidding process is delayed due to legal challenges, etc. The establishment of an independent gambling regulatory authority is also far off—possibly not until 2030. Until then, the issuance of new licenses will be handled by the Ministry of Finance. The current draft still needs to be negotiated by the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), the NEOS, and the center-right People's Party (ÖVP) coalition, and any amendments must be finalized before the parliamentary vote before the summer recess in early July. Simon Priglinger-Simader, chairman of the industry trade association ÖVWG, said he is "more hopeful than ever," but there are still some tricky issues to be resolved in the next few days.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
