Austria’s Ministry of Finance takes next step towards new gambling law with submission made to EU for notification to Brussels

Casinos are likely to be split into a six-casino package and a seven-casino package

With the submission of the planned Gambling Act to the European Commission for review and notification, Austria’s Ministry of Finance has taken another important step towards becoming law. This means that a three-month standstill period will come into force. Only at the end of this period can the decision on the law be implimented. However, the parliamentary process can continue during the standstill period.

The core of the reform is the new regulation of online gambling and the modernisation of player protection with a variety of player-related measures at its core.

The Ministry said: “The improvement of player protection to avert personal and social risks is a special focus of the amendment. For the first time, a central, cross-operator and cross-game blocking register will be introduced. This is the first time that operator-side blocks and self-exclusions are recorded centrally and include casino, slot machine and online gambling. Further measures are being taken with deposit limits for online gambling and gambling machines. Lower limits for people between the ages of 18 and 26 provide special protection for young adults. The legal submission of gambling addiction potential analyses also promotes scientifically sound studies. In the case of gambling machines, the speed of play and the possible stakes are reduced and a mandatory cooling-off period after a playing time of 90 minutes is introduced.”

For online gambling, the draft law provides for an open licensing procedure. In order to apply for an online licence, however, in addition to the strict requirements, previously illegal providers will have to discontinue their offer from 1 January 2027. If this is not the case, there will be a blocking period of 18 months and from 2030 to 24 months for the granting of the licence. In addition, all tax debts that are not time-barred and unpaid player protection actions must be settled. This will bring justice to around 20,000 aggrieved players in Austria. With payment blocking, black listing and network blocking, the legal market is secured. This is intended to significantly increase the channelling rate from illegal to legal offers. In addition, a digital supervisory system for online gambling will be created, with which a central, cross-operator deposit limit will be implemented.

Part of the amendment is also the new regulation for the award of concessions to land-based casinos. These are to be determined at a maximum of 13, whereby allocation in packages is permitted. In the case of a potential package award, particular attention must be paid to minimising the competitive pressure between the casinos in order to strengthen player protection and to achieve a balance of value.

Casinos Austria currently operates all 12 current land-based concessions and has campaigned to maintain the package model. Smaller new operators had argued for individual concessions instead.

Observers believe that dividing the 13 licences into a six-licence and a seven-licence package would permit a second huge operator, such as Merkur, into the market but would leave single-licence bidders with no option to take part.