The Austrian government has finally set a date in the legislative draft for the end of the online gambling monopoly—September 2027, when the market will officially open to multiple operators. However, the draft includes a clause that sends chills down the spine of grey market operators: a "cooling-off period". Specifically, companies that have operated illegally in Austria within 18 months prior to the law taking effect will be temporarily banned from entering the legal market; starting from 2030, this retrospective window will be extended to 24 months. Merely being banned is not enough—to enter the market, they must first settle all back taxes and player compensation claims from the past few years. Simon Priglinger-Simader, chairman of the Austrian Gambling and Betting Association (OVWG), almost gritted his teeth as he said: "The federal government wants players to return to the regulated market, strengthen player protection, and secure tax revenue. Once the cooling-off period starts, the opposite happens—the tax-paying operators are driven away, the black market steps in to fill the void, existing revenue collapses, and the additional revenue already budgeted for cannot be obtained."
Casinos Austria laughed, as the grey market was cornered
The winners and losers of this cooling-off period clause are almost obvious. Currently, Casinos Austria, the monopolist of physical casinos in Austria, holds the only online gambling license in the country through its subsidiary Austrian Lotteries. It and Tipico's Admiral had previously publicly supported setting a licensing gap for the grey market—in other words, the draft's cut was clearly anticipated by Casinos Austria. Meanwhile, a large number of operators currently taking orders in Austria with EU licenses will face a tough choice: "either stop for 18 months and pay taxes before returning." Priglinger-Simader's warning points directly to structural flaws: if licensed operators are cleared out of the existing player pool before licenses are issued, a vacuum will occur in the legal market—and the black market will fill this gap faster than regulatory licensing.
The single bet limit bounced back from €2 to €5, with a profit cap of €10,000
Another gamble is on the betting limits. A draft leaked in May had planned to cut the slot machine single bet limit from **€10 to €2**, but faced collective industry backlash—even Casinos Austria stood up against it—the latest tripartite coalition compromise pulled this line back to **€5**. The profit cap was also significantly adjusted from the initial draft's **€2,000 to €10,000**, and large prize pools were preserved. However, tighter restrictions will also be in place: players will face a **€1,680 weekly deposit limit**, with stricter rules for those under 26; gaming mechanics will introduce mandatory breaks and speed limits. On the physical casino side, the next round of license tenders will release 13 licenses, which can be issued individually or bundled together.
Readers following the PASA official website may have noticed a pattern spreading across Europe—Finland opening doors in 2027, Norway discussing ending the monopoly, and now Austria has set a timetable. But Austria's "cooling-off period" mechanism is so far the most aggressive market cleansing method—it operates on the logic of "dirty operators are penalized first, then queued for eligibility." Whether it purifies the market or delivers heads to the black market depends on whether the regulatory layer can issue licenses faster than the cooling-off period creates a vacuum.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leader," 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
