Austria’s three governing parties are finalising the country’s new gambling law this week, with negotiators from the centre-right People’s Party (ÖVP), centre-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) and liberal NEOS working through the last contested details. The bill will dismantle one of Europe’s last surviving online gambling monopolies once the current single licence expires at the end of 2027. A leaked Ministry of Finance draft, obtained by iGB in late May, first confirmed the monopoly’s end. What remains contested is harder to settle: who gets in, and when.
What the Austrian Reform Means for Operators
The shift reorders a market that has run on a single online licence for fifteen years. For operators, regulators and tax authorities, the stakes are concrete and the timeline is tightening.
- Market access is not guaranteed. A proposed “cooling-off” period could lock out operators found to have breached Austrian gambling law within the past five years.
- Settling outstanding player claims and unpaid taxes will be a precondition for any licence application, according to the May draft.
- Stake limits could redraw the economics. A possible cut in the maximum stake from €10 to €2 has alarmed nearly every part of the industry.
- Land-based concessions may rise from 12 to 15, with the ÖVP and NEOS pushing for more.
- The lottery monopoly stays intact, and the licence fee may climb sharply.
A Cooling-Off Phase That Divides the Industry
One of the sharpest battlegrounds is whether unlicensed operators already active in Austria should wait before being granted a local licence. The proposal, reportedly favoured by the SPÖ-led Ministry of Finance, would bar companies found to have broken Austrian gambling law in the previous five years from entering the regulated market.
Felix Geyer, an Austrian public affairs consultant, told iGB the ban could run between 24 and 36 months and would mainly hit EU licensees operating in the country. “The black market will not care,” he said. “They won’t be applying for licences.” That observation cuts to the heart of the dispute. The penalty lands on the operators most willing to come inside the regulated fence.
And while the measure carries the Finance Ministry’s backing, there is reportedly disagreement within the SPÖ itself about whether the hiatus is needed at all.
Why the Monopoly Holder Wants Restrictions
Casinos Austria, whose Austrian Lotteries subsidiary holds the sole online gaming licence and which until recently was part-owned by the Ministry of Finance, has campaigned for a cooling-off phase.
“One day you’re operating illegally, and the next day you’re granted a licence, that’s absurd,” Patrick Minar, spokesperson for Casinos Austria, told the Krone newspaper. “An initial cooling-off phase of three to five years would be conceivable.”
Novomatic subsidiary the Admiral land-based casino brand in Austria takes a similar line. “The operators of state-run gaming schemes have demonstrated responsible conduct for years,” said Monika Racek, CEO of Admiral Casinos & Entertainment, in comments to Krone. “These operators must not be discriminated against by the legislator treating them in the same way as everyone else.”
The argument is, in part, about who earned the right to be trusted. Incumbents frame their track record as a credential. Challengers see a barrier dressed up as player protection.
The ‘Reform Killer’ Argument
The Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OWVG) reads the same proposal in reverse. Delaying licences for grey-market operators, it argues, would undercut the government’s own objectives.
“A cooling-off period would be the reform killer,” said OWVG president Simon Priglinger-Simader. “The federal government wants to bring players into the regulated market, strengthen player protection and secure tax revenues. With cooling off, the opposite happens: tax-paying operators must leave, the black market jumps in, existing revenues collapse and already budgeted additional revenues fail to materialise.”
Player-claims lawyers have raised a related concern. A long exclusion could make it harder for companies to settle court rulings owed to players, even though the draft makes paying those claims a condition of entry. Which raises a harder question: can the state collect what it is owed from operators it has chosen to keep out?
Stake Limits, Land-Based Licences and the Lottery Fee
A proposed maximum stake of €2 and maximum winnings of €2,000 per game has become its own flashpoint. According to Geyer, the figure unsettles almost everyone on the commercial side.
“Virtually everyone in the industry, including land-based operators, the monopoly holder and the OWVG, agrees that cutting the maximum stake from €10 to €2 would probably ruin the regulated online industry,” he said. “As I understand it, there had initially been agreement on this point, but the Social Democrats have been insisting on the €2 limit on player protection grounds.”
The land-based count is also unresolved. The Finance Ministry’s first draft referenced “up to 12” concessions, possibly bundled into licence “packages”, but the ÖVP and NEOS reportedly want the number raised toward 15. On lotteries, which will stay a monopoly in the next tender, NEOS is said to favour doubling the licence fee from €20 million to €40 million.
| Provision | Current / Draft Position | Point of Contention |
|---|---|---|
| Online monopoly | Ends after licence expiry in 2027 | Settled in principle |
| Cooling-off period | 24–36 months proposed for prior breaches | Split within SPÖ and between parties; OWVG opposes outright |
| Maximum stake | €2 proposed (down from €10) | SPÖ insists on it for player protection; industry broadly against |
| Land-based licences | Up to 12, possibly in packages | ÖVP and NEOS pushing toward 15 |
| Lottery licence fee | €20 million | NEOS reportedly seeking €40 million |
A Timeline Now Coming Into Focus
Amid the open questions, the schedule is firming up. The government plans to finalise the draft ahead of the last plenary sitting before the July summer recess.
That would put the three-month EU notification process across the summer, with the law taking force in autumn. The tender for new online licences would follow, ahead of the expiry of the 15-year single licence at the end of next year. Pass the bill before recess, and the calendar holds. Miss it, and the sequence slips.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will Austria’s online gambling monopoly end?
The monopoly is set to end after the current single online licence expires at the close of 2027. The new framework is expected to enter into force in autumn 2025, opening the tender process for the licences that will replace it.
What is the proposed cooling-off period?
It would temporarily bar operators found to have breached Austrian gambling law within the previous five years from receiving a licence. Estimates put the exclusion at roughly 24 to 36 months, though the measure remains contested even inside the SPÖ.
Why does the €2 stake limit matter?
Reducing the maximum stake from €10 to €2 would sharply cut the commercial viability of regulated online gaming, according to operators, the monopoly holder and the OWVG alike. The SPÖ defends it on player-protection grounds.
How many land-based casino licences will be available?
Up to 12 in the initial draft, with the ÖVP and NEOS pressing for as many as 15.
Will lotteries be opened to competition?
No. Lotteries remain a monopoly under the next tender, with a licence fee that could rise from €20 million to €40 million if NEOS prevails.
