The term ‘gaming’ is not a legal term under Austrian law. It can only serve as an umbrella term for the various legally defined activities in this context. The fundamental distinction in Austrian gaming law is drawn between games of chance and betting.

Games of chance are defined in Sec 1 para 1 Gaming Act as games in which the decision on the outcome depends exclusively or predominantly on chance. There is no nationwide and uniform definition of betting.

On the other hand, a bet is a stake placed on the outcome of a future event, where the outcome does not predominantly depend on chance because the players can bring their knowledge of the event into their decision and this knowledge outweighs the element of chance. The state betting laws contain their own definitions of bets and of the different types of bets, in particular totalisator and bookmaker bets.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The definition of games of chance in Sec 1 para 1 would remain unchanged. The draft would, however, restructure the definition of online gaming. A new Sec 13 would define online gaming as games of chance in which participation takes place directly via electronic media, the outcome is determined centrally and made available via electronic media, and which are not offered at fixed premises. Lottery products under Secs 6 to 12a are excluded. The term of online gaming would replace the current concept of electronic lotteries.

Games of chance are regulated at federal level by the Gaming Act and are subject to a federal monopoly, which in particular includes lotteries, electronic lotteries, meaning games of chance offered online such as online casino games and online poker (Sec 12a Gaming Act), and casinos. Games of chance expressly include, in particular, roulette, observation roulette, poker, black jack, two aces, bingo, keno, baccarat and baccarat chemin de fer, as well as their variants.

The Gaming Act provides for an exception for slot machine operations under state law [Landesausspielungen].

Betting is not covered by the federal monopoly and is regulated at state level by nine separate state betting laws.

The anti-money laundering obligations are based on the Financial Market Anti-Money Laundering Act [Finanzmarkt-Geldwäschegesetz], to which both the Gaming Act and the state laws refer.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

Online gaming would be separated from the lottery licence, which currently also covers electronic lotteries, and would become a separate licensing segment with an unlimited number of licences. Lottery products, including their online distribution, would remain subject to one single licence. The number of casino licences would be fixed at 13 and video lottery terminals would be phased out. Betting would remain a matter of state law, the draft does not contain any provisions on sports betting.

Games of chance are a federal matter in legislation and enforcement. Licensing and supervision are currently vested in the Tax Office Austria [Finanzamt Österreich]. The Federal Minister of Finance retains certain powers, in particular the approval of acquisitions of qualifying holdings in licensees and the issuance of ordinances.

Slot machine operations under state law are a state matter in legislation and enforcement. The competent authorities are the governments of the states that permit this type of offering.

Betting is a state matter in legislation and enforcement. The competent authorities are the governments of the nine states.

Administrative penalties for violations of the federal and state gaming and betting laws are imposed by the district administrative authorities and, in certain cities, by the state police directorates. The Office for Combating Fraud [Amt für Betrugsbekämpfung], which includes the financial police, carries out inspections and investigations regarding unlawful gaming.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

• Gaming supervisory authority: The draft would vest licensing and supervision in a gaming supervisory authority [Glücksspielaufsichtsbehörde]. In the meantime, the draft designates the Tax Office Austria as gaming supervisory authority (Sec 60 para 56). The establishment of an independent authority, as envisaged in the government programme, is prepared but not yet implemented by the draft.
• Office for Combating Fraud: it would receive extensive new powers against unlawful online offerings, in particular covert test games (Sec 56a), a supervisory procedure leading to orders to cease unlawful offerings (Sec 56b), orders against hosting, caching and search engine providers (Sec 56c), applications for access blocking orders (Sec 56d) and payment blocking (Sec 56e).
• Telekom-Control-Kommission: it would issue access blocking orders against internet access providers upon application of the Office for Combating Fraud (Sec 56d).
• Office for Gaming and Player Protection: the existing office for player protection within the Federal Ministry of Finance would be renamed the Office for Gaming and Player Protection [Stelle für Glücksspiel und Spielerschutz] and its remit would be extended to market monitoring (Sec 1 para 4).

Under the federal monopoly, the following licences are available:

• Lottery licence: one single licence covering lottery products and electronic lotteries, including the online platform win2day and video lottery terminals. It is currently held by Österreichische Lotterien GmbH and runs until 30 September 2027. No further licensing possible currently.
• Casino licences: up to 15 licences may be granted. Currently, 12 licences are granted, all of them to Casinos Austria AG.

Slot machine operations under state law require a state licence. Each state may grant up to three licences, subject to a maximum ratio of one slot machine per 1,200 inhabitants. The licence term is governed by the respective state law.

Betting licences are granted under the state betting laws. There is no limit on the number of betting licences.

There is no licensing regime for B2B providers or software suppliers under the current Gaming Act. Gaming equipment and software used by licensees must, however, comply with the applicable technical requirements, and slot machines and video lottery terminals must be electronically connected to the Federal Computing Centre [Bundesrechenzentrum].

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The online monopoly will come to an end. The gaming supervisory authority will have the opportunity to grant an unlimited number of online gaming licences to all applicants meeting the statutory requirements (Sec 14 para 1 second sentence). Lottery products would remain subject to one single licence (Sec 14 para 1 first sentence). The number of casino licences would be fixed at 13, which may be grouped in several packages (Sec 21 para 5).

Licence terms:

• lottery licence: up to 15 years (Sec 14 para 4 no. 1),
• online gaming licence: up to five years for the first grant and up to ten years for each further grant (Sec 14 para 4 no. 1),
• casino licences: unchanged, up to 15 years.

The existing lottery licence and the six city casino licences would be extended by law until 31 December 2028 (Sec 60 paras 63 and 65). Online gaming licences could be granted from 1 January 2027 and would take effect on 1 October 2027 at the earliest (Sec 60 para 63).

The draft would still not introduce a B2B licence. B2B providers would, however, be affected indirectly, in particular by the safe server obligation of online gaming licensees (Sec 31i), the connection of slot machines in casinos to the Federal Computing Centre (Sec 2 para 3, Sec 21 para 10) and the enforcement measures against unlawful offerings, which also target payment service providers and other intermediaries (see question 15).

The state betting laws also prohibit certain bets, in particular bets contrary to public order or morality.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The draft would align the product rules for online slot machines (Sec 5 para 5, Sec 13 para 2):

• maximum stake of EUR 5 per game and maximum win of EUR 10,000 per game,
• minimum duration of two seconds per game and no parallel games on the same machine,
• no increase of stakes or wins beyond these limits through side games,
• after 90 minutes of uninterrupted play, the machine shuts down for a cooling-off phase of at least 15 minutes, during which a video on the risks of gaming must be displayed (currently after two hours).

The existing prohibition of game content with aggressive, violent, criminal, racist or pornographic depictions would be extended to all online games (Sec 13 paras 2 and 3).

Lottery and casino licences are awarded following a public call for expressions of interest, which must comply with the principles of transparency and non-discrimination. Applicants must be corporations with a supervisory board and a seat in an EU or EEA member state. They must have a minimum paid-in share capital of EUR 109 million (lottery licence) or EUR 22 million (casino licence) of evidenced lawful origin, which is freely available for the operations in Austria. Further requirements concern in particular the reliability of the shareholders holding qualifying holdings, the suitability of the managing directors and a group structure that does not impede supervision.

If the successful applicant has its seat outside Austria, the licence is granted subject to the condition that a seat is established in Austria. This is not required if the applicant holds a comparable licence in its home state and is subject to comparable state supervision that provides information to the Austrian authority and carries out on-site inspections on its behalf (supervisory chain). In this case, the licence may be exercised through an Austrian branch.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

Online gaming licences would not be subject to a public call for expressions of interest. Instead, they would be granted in an ongoing application procedure to any applicant meeting the statutory requirements (Sec 14 paras 1 and 6). Special procedural rules would apply, including the rejection of applications that do not meet minimum requirements such as legal form, seat, capital or payment of the application fee (Sec 50a).

Minimum paid-in share capital (Sec 14 para 2 no. 3, Sec 21 para 2 no. 3):

• lottery licence: EUR 100 million,
• online gaming licence: EUR 10 million,
• casino licence: EUR 10 million, increased by 20% for each additional licence.

The capital must be of evidenced lawful origin, freely available for the operations in Austria and not diminished by accumulated losses at the time of application. In our view, expenses required for the gaming operations may subsequently be paid from these funds. The draft does not expressly address whether the amount must be maintained after the grant of the licence.

The requirement of an Austrian seat would remain. There is the option that a simple branch in Austria is sufficient, for applicants holding a comparable licence in their home state, provided that the supervisory chain exists and the enforcement of final Austrian civil judgments against the applicant is ensured in its home state (Sec 14 para 3).

Fees (Sec 59a):

• application fee: EUR 70,000,
• grant of an online gaming licence: EUR 300,000 for the first grant and EUR 600,000 for each further grant.
• No annual licence fee is envisaged. Licensees would, however, bear the costs of their supervision and of the central registers.

Operators that have offered online gaming in Austria without a licence could only obtain an online gaming licence if the following cumulative conditions are met (Sec 14 paras 2a and 2b):

• Taxes: all due and not time-barred gaming taxes under Sec 57 para 2 have been paid. Alternatively, the applicant may make a complete voluntary disclosure and payment under Sec 29 Fiscal Offences Act before the expression of interest and submit all records of stakes, payouts and bonuses in a form allowing electronic review.
• Judgments: all final judgments of Austrian civil courts obtained by players have been satisfied, and new judgments are satisfied within the period for performance until the grant of the licence. Partial payments in insolvency, restructuring or comparable proceedings in Austria or abroad do not count as satisfaction.
• Cooling-off period: the unlicensed offering in Austria has been ceased from 1 January 2027 until the grant of the licence. If the offering is only ceased after 31 December 2026, the applicant is excluded from obtaining an online gaming licence for 18 months from cessation, or for 24 months if the offering is ceased after 31 December 2029.
• Declaration of compliance: the applicant files a sworn declaration of compliance with the expression of interest and discloses all relevant entities, brands and signs. The authority publishes the identity of the applicant and the disclosed entities, brands and signs on the Federal Government’s electronic publication and information platform, the beneficial owner is only named if there is reason to believe that it has itself offered gaming. An incorrect declaration prevents the grant of the licence and, after the grant, leads to its withdrawal, unless the breach was minor.

These conditions apply group-wide. Affiliated entities up to and including the ultimate beneficial owner are treated as the applicant, and brands remain caught where they are only slightly modified or combined with other elements so that a risk of confusion cannot be excluded.

No. Individuals within the business do not require personal licences. Managing directors must, however, meet fit and proper requirements regarding their reliability, professional qualification and experience, and the shareholders holding qualifying holdings must be reliable. Managing directors of lottery and casino licensees must have their centre of vital interests in the EU or EEA. In addition, a number of managing directors sufficient for external representation must have their centre of vital interests in Austria in order to comply with supervisory orders without delay (Sec 31b para 2 Gaming Act).

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The draft would not introduce personal licences. The existing requirements, including the residence requirements for managing directors, would also apply to online gaming licensees. Further requirements for key function holders, such as anti-money laundering, data protection and player protection officers, are not set out in detail in the draft and are expected to be shaped by secondary legislation and administrative practice.

Licensees may advertise their offering but must maintain a responsible standard. Compliance with this standard is monitored exclusively by the supervisory authority and is not subject to claims under the Unfair Competition Act (Sec 56 para 1 Gaming Act). Advertising for casinos located in other EU or EEA member states requires an approval. Advertising unlawful gaming in Austria or enabling such advertising is an administrative offence punishable by fines of up to EUR 22,000 (Sec 52 para 1 no. 9 Gaming Act). The advertising of the monopoly licensees has also been a recurring argument in the debate on the coherence of the monopoly with EU law before the Austrian courts.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The advertising rules would be moved to Sec 31d. The responsible standard would continue to be monitored exclusively by the supervisory authority. In addition to excluding claims under the Unfair Competition Act, the draft clarifies that the provision is not a protective law within the meaning of Sec 1311 Civil Code. The Federal Minister of Finance would be authorised to set out further advertising standards by ordinance.

In addition, the Office for Combating Fraud would publish warnings about unlawful offerings and maintain a public blacklist of unlawful offerings and a whitelist of licensed operators (Sec 51a).

Affiliate marketing is not specifically regulated and affiliates do not require a licence. Affiliates may, however, be directly liable for advertising unlawful gaming or enabling such advertising (Sec 52 para 1 no. 9 Gaming Act). Whether affiliate activities are permissible therefore depends on whether the promoted offering is licensed in Austria.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

Affiliates would remain unregulated. Affiliates of licensed operators would be indirectly bound by the advertising standards under Sec 31d. Affiliates promoting unlawful offerings would face a considerably higher risk. The Office for Combating Fraud could order hosting, caching and search engine providers to remove or block unlawful content, which according to the explanatory notes also covers mere advertising for unlawful offerings. Non-compliance would be punishable by fines of up to EUR 1,000,000 (Sec 56c). In addition, unlawful offerings and their identification features would be published on the blacklist (Sec 51a).

Offering unlawful gaming as an entrepreneur is punishable by fines of up to EUR 60,000 per offence, in the case of slot machines, fines are imposed per machine. Advertising unlawful gaming is punishable by fines of up to EUR 22,000 (Sec 52 para 1 Gaming Act). Players participating from Austria in unlicensed electronic lotteries may be fined up to EUR 7,500 (Sec 52 para 5 Gaming Act). For online gambling, however, it remains unclear what constitutes a single offence, in particular whether each individual game, such as a single spin, or the online offering as a whole is to be regarded as one offence.

For unlicensed operators, a significant risk results from civil law. According to settled case law of the Supreme Court, gaming contracts with unlicensed operators are null and void, so that players may reclaim their losses. These claims are frequently financed by litigation funders and are increasingly also directed against managing directors, group companies and B2B providers.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The maximum fine for offering unlawful online gaming would be increased to EUR 1,000,000 (Sec 52 para 2). Non-compliance with orders to cease unlawful offerings, block access or stop payment processing would be punishable by fines of up to EUR 1,000,000 and, in part, by coercive penalties of up to EUR 30,000 per day, capped at EUR 750,000 (Secs 56c to 56e).

For unlicensed operators, a significant risk will still be from civil law. Gaming contracts with unlicensed operators will be null and void, so that players may reclaim their losses. Repayments to players based on the nullity of gaming contracts would expressly not reduce the tax base for the gaming taxes (Sec 57a para 2). Unlicensed operators would therefore bear both the tax on the stakes and the full repayment. In addition, all final judgments obtained by players would have to be satisfied before an online gaming licence can be granted (see question 6).

Licensees must maintain the minimum capital and the other licensing requirements throughout the term of the licence. They require approval for changes to their shareholder structure and for the acquisition of qualifying holdings in other companies, and they must submit their audited annual financial statements to the supervisory authority within six months after the end of the financial year. The gaming taxes are self-assessed and paid monthly, followed by annual tax returns. Licensees bear the costs of their supervision. They must also comply with the player protection and anti-money laundering requirements described in questions 12 and 13.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

• Test purchases: the authorities, the Office for Gaming and Player Protection and the licensees could conduct test purchases. Licensees would have to submit a report on test purchases to the authority at least every two years (Sec 31b paras 10 and 11).
• Gaming addiction potential analysis: licensees would have to submit an analysis of the addiction potential of each game covered by the licence [Spielsuchtpotentialanalyse] from 1 October 2027 (Sec 16 para 15, Sec 26 para 3).
• Safe server: online gaming licensees would have to operate, at their own expense, a safe server that records all gaming transactions in an unalterable form and grants the authority direct access at all times (Sec 31i).
• Central registers: online gaming, casino and state slot machine licensees would have to participate in the central cross-operator exclusion register (Sec 31g), and online gaming licensees also in the central limit register (Sec 31h). The costs would be charged annually.
• Federal Computing Centre: slot machines operated under state law and slot machines in casinos would have to be electronically connected to the Federal Computing Centre (Sec 2 para 3, Sec 21 para 10).
• Ongoing charges: in addition to the gaming taxes and the supervision costs, a contribution of 0.1% of the tax base would finance the supervising authority. From 1 January 2028, it would also apply to online gaming licensees (Sec 1 para 4).
• Game terms: online gaming licensees would have to notify changes to their game terms to the authority with reasons, the changes could be implemented one month later at the earliest, unless prohibited by the authority (Sec 16 para 1).
• Sanctions: violations by licensees would be punishable by fines of up to EUR 1,000,000 (Sec 14 para 8, Sec 23 para 2). The authority could also impose coercive penalties of EUR 30,000 per day, capped at EUR 750,000 (Sec 14 para 7, Sec 23 para 1).

The Gaming Act and the state laws on slot machine operations and betting base their anti-money laundering requirements on the Financial Market Anti-Money Laundering Act, which implements the EU anti-money laundering directives, and declare certain of its provisions applicable. In the licensing procedure, the applicant’s systems for the prevention of money laundering and crime are assessed. Licensees must identify, assess and record the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing and the non-implementation of targeted financial sanctions and must update this risk analysis at regular intervals. Casino licensees must identify every visitor upon entry and apply customer due diligence measures for currency exchanges and stakes of EUR 2,000 or more per visitor and gaming day, including where this amount results from several apparently linked transactions (Sec 31c para 2 Gaming Act). Enhanced due diligence applies in cases of increased risk and to politically exposed persons. Licensees must report suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit. For licensees, the fit and proper requirements for managing directors, shareholders and supervisory board members also serve anti-money laundering purposes.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The draft would largely maintain the existing anti-money laundering framework, with supervision passing to the gaming supervisory authority. For casinos, the presentation of an official photo identification upon entry could be replaced by suitable technical recognition methods, such as biometric procedures (Sec 31c para 2 no. 1). The authorities would receive extended powers for administrative assistance and the exchange of information, in particular with the courts and public prosecutors, the federal ministries, the Financial Market Authority, the telecommunications and media regulators, the district administrative authorities, the state police directorates and the state governments, as well as with foreign authorities (Sec 50 paras 12 and 13).

Independently of the draft, the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1624) will apply from 10 July 2027 and will directly govern the anti-money laundering obligations of gaming service providers. The national provisions referring to the Financial Market Anti-Money Laundering Act will have to be adapted accordingly, these are currently in drafting stage according to the legislator.

The Gaming Act contains specific requirements for lottery, casino and state slot machine licensees regarding the prevention of gaming addiction, player protection and the protection of minors. These include in particular access and identification systems, staff training, cooperation with recognised player protection institutions and graduated warning systems ranging from player information and consultation to credit checks and player bans. Casino licensees that breach their duty of care towards players whose gaming endangers their livelihood are liable for the resulting losses (Sec 25 para 3 Gaming Act). The state betting laws contain player protection requirements for betting operators that vary from state to state.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

• Deposit limits: online gaming licensees would have to limit deposits to EUR 250 per week for players under the age of 26 and to EUR 1,680 per month for players aged 26 and over. For players aged 23 and over, a deviating amount may be set if no endangerment of the player is to be assumed and graduated additional measures, such as the monitoring of gaming behaviour and feedback tools, are in place (Sec 13 para 4).
• Central registers: the Federal Minister of Finance would establish a central cross-operator exclusion register covering casinos, slot machines and online gaming (Sec 31g) and a central limit register for online gaming (Sec 31h). Participation would be mandatory for all licensees. The deposit limit would apply across operators, a deviating limit agreed with one operator would only be effective with that operator.
• Slot machine parameters: the cooling-off phase after 90 minutes and the other parameters described in question 5 would apply to land-based and virtual slot machines.
• Duty of care online: the duty of care and the resulting civil liability under Sec 25 para 3 would be extended to online gaming (Sec 13 para 1).
• Minimum age: participation in lotteries and online gaming would be limited to persons aged 18 and over (Sec 16 para 1a).
• Gaming addiction potential analysis: licensees would have to submit an analysis for each game offered (see question 11).
• Office for Gaming and Player Protection: the existing office would be extended to market monitoring and financed by a contribution of 0.1% of the tax base (Sec 1 para 4).

Any person who intends to acquire or increase, directly or indirectly, a holding in a lottery or casino licensee so that its share of voting rights or capital reaches or exceeds 20%, 30% or 50%, or so that the licensee becomes its subsidiary, must notify the Federal Minister of Finance in writing in advance (Secs 18 and 30 Gaming Act). The acquisition must be approved if the statutory licensing requirements continue to be met after the acquisition, otherwise, it must be prohibited. The acquisition may not be completed before the approval has been granted. Licensees must notify every acquisition and disposal of qualifying holdings and, at least once a year, the names and addresses of their ultimate beneficial owners and of the shareholders holding qualifying holdings. The acquisition of qualifying holdings by the licensee itself requires approval, and every crossing of the threshold of 25% of the voting rights or capital in a direct or indirect holding of the licensee must be notified (Secs 15 and 24 Gaming Act).

For slot machine operations under state law, the Gaming Act requires an ownership and group structure that does not impede effective supervision. Under the state betting laws, the reliability of the persons appointed as representatives and of the beneficial owners must be demonstrated.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The thresholds would remain unchanged. Notifications and approvals would be addressed to the gaming supervisory authority, which would also order the suspension of voting rights if an acquisition is completed without approval or if the requirements are no longer met (Secs 18 and 30).

The shareholder structure would, however, become decisive for applicants with a history of unlicensed online offering. The conditions described in question 6 extend to all affiliated entities up to and including the ultimate beneficial owner, and the applicant must disclose all relevant entities together with its declaration of compliance (Sec 14 para 2b nos. 1, 3 and 4).

The Gaming Act and the state laws contain administrative offences that primarily target unlawful offerings without the required Austrian licence. Fines are imposed separately for each offence (principle of cumulation), and both direct perpetrators and those contributing to the offence are penalised. Where an act constitutes both an administrative offence under Sec 52 Gaming Act and the criminal offence of gaming under Sec 168 Criminal Code, only the administrative provision applies (Sec 52 para 3 Gaming Act). The authorities may seize and confiscate slot machines and other equipment and may order the closure of premises in which unlawful gaming is offered. In addition, civil claims by players for the recovery of their losses are a major liability exposure for unlicensed operators, their managing directors, group companies and B2B providers.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The draft would substantially extend the enforcement toolkit against unlawful online offerings. According to the version notified to the European Commission, these instruments would enter into force at the end of 31 December 2026:

• Fines: fines for offering unlawful online gaming of up to EUR 1,000,000 (Sec 52 para 2).
• Covert test games: officers of the Office for Combating Fraud could conduct covert test games using cover identities in order to collect evidence (Sec 56a).
• Cease orders: a supervisory procedure leading to orders to cease the unlawful offering (Sec 56b).
• Hosting, caching and search engines: orders against these providers to remove or block access to unlawful content, including the redirection to an official stop page, backed by fines of up to EUR 1,000,000 or coercive penalties of up to EUR 30,000 per day, capped at EUR 750,000 (Sec 56c).
• Access blocking: where these measures are not successful, the Telekom-Control-Kommission could order internet access providers to block access to unlawful offerings (IP and DNS blocking). Providers with fewer than 2,000 subscribers would be exempt. Non-compliance would be punishable by fines of up to EUR 1,000,000 (Sec 56d).
• Payment blocking: participating in payment transactions for unlawful offerings published on the blacklist would be prohibited. The Office for Combating Fraud could instruct banks and other participants in payment transactions to stop processing within three banking days, backed by fines of up to EUR 1,000,000 or coercive penalties of up to EUR 30,000 per day, capped at EUR 750,000. Participants would not be liable for damages resulting from blocked transactions unless they knew that the suspicion was unfounded (Sec 56e).
• Closure of premises: closure orders would remain effective for 18 months instead of one year and could be accompanied by cutting off the supply of electricity, internet and water and by technical surveillance (Sec 56).

Gaming taxes are regulated exclusively at federal level and depend on the product. Following the tax increases in 2025 and 2026, the main rates are:

• sports betting (online and land-based): betting fee [Wettgebühr] of 5% of the stakes,
• electronic lotteries (online gaming): 45% of the annual gross gaming revenue, meaning stakes minus winnings paid out,

The gaming taxes are owed by licensed and unlicensed operators alike, for online gaming, the tax applies where the player participates from Austria. Games of chance and betting are exempt from VAT, except for turnover from slot machines and video lottery terminals. Non-professional players are not subject to income tax on their winnings.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

• Online gaming: licensed online gaming would be subject to a concession levy of 45% of the annual gross gaming revenue. Unlicensed online gaming, including the unlicensed online offering of lottery products, would remain subject to a gaming tax of 45%.
• Bonuses: bonuses of any kind, such as promotion tickets, free spins, credits, discounts or vouchers, would be treated as stakes for tax purposes (Sec 57a). Only licensees could deduct actually granted bonuses up to an allowance of 5% of the annual gross gaming revenue (online gaming licensees), 5% of the annual gross gaming revenue net of VAT (state slot machine licensees) or 0.3% of the stakes and of the administrative cost contributions (lottery licensee). Refunds, including repayments to players based on the nullity of the gaming contract, would not reduce the tax base. According to the notified version, these rules would apply to tax liabilities arising after 31 December 2026.
• Contribution for the Office for Gaming and Player Protection: the existing contribution of 0.1% of the tax base would be extended to the concession levy for online gaming from 1 January 2028 (Sec 1 para 4).

Cryptocurrencies are not specifically addressed in the Gaming Act or the state betting laws. As the licensed online offering is currently limited to the lottery licensee, gaming with cryptocurrencies is in practice only offered to Austrian players by operators without an Austrian licence. Payment methods used for gaming are subject to the anti-money laundering requirements, in particular customer due diligence. Player claims against unlicensed operators frequently concern losses incurred in cryptocurrencies, which raises additional questions, for example regarding the currency of the claim and the relevant valuation date.

Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act:

The draft does still not expressly address cryptocurrencies. However such payments would need to fulfil the same requirements as FIAT transactions, especially:

• Safe server: all gaming transactions, stakes, payouts and player identification data would have to be recorded in an unalterable form with direct access for the authority (Sec 31i).
• Deposit limits and limit register: deposits would be capped per identified player and across operators (Sec 13 para 4, Sec 31h). This requires every deposit to be linked to a verified identity and to be valued in euro.
• Payment blocking: participating in payment transactions for unlawful offerings published on the blacklist would be prohibited (Secs 51a and 56e). The term ‘participants in payment transactions’ is broader than that of payment service providers.

Yes. A reform of the Austrian gaming market has been under discussion for years, not least because the lottery licence and six casino licences expire in 2027. There is a draft law (as explained in the sections “Changes under the draft of the planned Gaming Act”) for the transition from the online monopoly to an open licensing system with an unlimited number of licences.

In June 2026, the Federal Ministry of Finance published the draft of the planned Gaming Act for public consultation. More than 100 statements were submitted, many of them critical of the cooling-off period. On 4 August 2026, the Ministry notified the draft to the European Commission. This triggered a standstill period of at least three months, which may be extended if the Commission or a member state issues a detailed opinion. The draft must then be adopted by the Council of Ministers as a government bill and passed by Parliament. An entry into force on 1 January 2027 is politically intended, in view of the open points, delays cannot be excluded.

Key (envisaged) dates under the notified version of the draft:

• Entry into force: the core provisions, including the new licensing regime, would enter into force on the day following their publication in the Federal Law Gazette.
• 31 December 2026: entry into force of the central exclusion and limit registers, the safe server obligation, the whitelist and blacklist and the enforcement instruments (Secs 31g, 31h, 31i, 51a and 56a to 56e).
• 1 January 2027: start of the cooling-off period for operators with an unlicensed online offering and application of the bonus taxation rules (Sec 57a). Online gaming licences may be granted from this date.
• 1 October 2027: earliest effective date of online gaming licences, entry into force of the new rules for land-based slot machines (subject to the transitional period until 31 December 2030 for slot machine operations under state law) and of the obligation to submit gaming addiction potential analyses.
• 1 January 2028: extension of the contribution for the Office for Gaming and Player Protection to online gaming.
• 31 December 2028: end of the statutory extension of the existing lottery licence and the six city casino licences (Bregenz, Graz, Innsbruck, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna) and of the transitional regime for video lottery terminals.
• End of 2030 and end of 2031: evaluation reports by the Federal Minister of Finance to Parliament on the exclusion register and on the new regulation of online gaming, including the effects of the cross-operator deposit limit on player protection and channelisation (Sec 60 paras 60 and 66).

In addition, there are political considerations to integrate sports betting, which is currently regulated by the states, into federal gaming law. No draft has been published so far.

Apart from the legislative reform described in question 18, we expect in particular the following regulatory developments:

• Licensing of online gaming: Operators intending to apply should use the remaining time to prepare their application, including the corporate structure, the capital requirements and, where relevant, the settlement of tax and judgment exposure.
• New tenders: the award of the lottery licence and of casino licences, in particular before the end of the statutory extension on 31 December 2028.
• Gaming supervisory authority: the transfer of licensing and supervision to a gaming supervisory authority, which the draft designates as the Tax Office Austria, and the possible establishment of an independent authority at a later stage.
• Secondary legislation: ordinances on the safe server data sets, the central registers and the advertising standards, which will determine the technical and operational requirements in practice.
• Central digital infrastructure: the connection of all slot machines operated under state law and in casinos to the Federal Computing Centre and the operation of the central exclusion and limit registers.
• EU anti-money laundering framework: the application of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation from 10 July 2027.
• Sports betting: the possible integration of sports betting into federal law.

For operators without an Austrian licence, as well as for their managing directors, beneficial owners, group companies and B2B providers, the most significant risk has been the high volume of civil claims by players. Austrian courts consistently hold that gaming contracts with unlicensed operators are void under Sec 879 Civil Code, so that players can recover their losses. Many of these claims are financed by litigation funders. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the clean-hands requirements of the draft would benefit around 20,000 players with such claims.

The draft of the planned Gaming Act would considerably increase the pressure on unlicensed operators through the enforcement toolkit (see question 15) and the conditions for a licence (see question 6). In our view, operators deciding against a licence will in most cases have to leave the Austrian market entirely, while operators seeking a licence will first have to quantify and settle their exposure.

For the growth of the licensed market, we see the following risks:

• Cooling-off period: operators with an unlicensed offering would have to cease their operations from 1 January 2027, while online gaming licences would only take effect from 1 October 2027. During this period, only the current monopolist could offer online gaming legally. Unless enforcement is fully effective from the outset, players may migrate to operators that do not intend to apply, which would undermine channelisation.
• Product attractiveness: deposit limits, stake and win limits for virtual slot machines and a tax rate of 45% of the gross gaming revenue may limit the attractiveness of the licensed offering. Experience in other markets, in particular Germany, shows that a restrictive product design can keep a considerable share of demand in the unlicensed market.
• Legal uncertainty: the draft is not yet final, and several provisions, in particular the cooling-off period, the group-wide attribution and the fee allocation for player protection tools, may face challenges under EU and constitutional law.

The main advantage of Austria for a start-up lies in the combination of a market that is opening up for online gaming and a regulatory regime that favours operators without a history of unlicensed offering:

• Clean start: the clean-hands requirements and the cooling-off period would primarily affect operators that have offered online gaming in Austria without a licence. A start-up without such a history would not be affected and would therefore be in a better starting position than many established competitors.
• Online gaming licences: Austria would grant an unlimited number of online gaming licences in an ongoing application procedure without a tender (see questions 4 and 6). The enforcement toolkit against unlicensed operators is intended to channel demand into the licensed market.
• Online betting: betting is regulated by the states, and several state betting laws do not expressly regulate online betting. The Supreme Court has confirmed that offering online betting without a physical presence in the state, such as a server or an establishment, does not require a state betting licence.
• Broad scope of betting: the state betting laws are not limited to sports. The Supreme Court has recently provided legal certainty for betting on eSports. In our view, most prediction market products offered as pool bets qualify as totalisator bets under state law, subject to an assessment of each individual market.

A start-up should, however, also take into account the substantial entry requirements: a minimum share capital of EUR 10 million, fees of EUR 370,000 for the application and the first grant of an online gaming licence, a tax rate of 45% of the gross gaming revenue respectively 5% betting tax on the stake for betting and strict product requirements. In addition, the draft is not yet final and its timeline may still change.