Austria submitted the draft through the European Commission’s Technical Regulation Information System, which allows the Commission and other member states to assess national technical rules before they are adopted.
The process is intended to identify potential conflicts with EU law, including restrictions affecting market access, competition and the cross-border provision of services.
Austria’s submission has triggered a three-month standstill period. The national parliament may continue examining the legislation during that time, but final adoption must wait until the notification process ends.
Comments or detailed opinions from the Commission or another member state could require Austria to respond or amend parts of the draft before proceeding.
Open Concessions Would Replace the Online Monopoly
The central commercial change is the proposed introduction of an open concession procedure for online gambling.
Austria currently operates through a monopoly-based framework established under the Federal Gaming Act. The reform would allow additional businesses to apply for Austrian online concessions, provided they meet the proposed regulatory, financial and player-protection requirements.
The change could significantly reshape the Austria online casino market and create a clearer route into the jurisdiction for operators that satisfy the new conditions. It would also mark a broader shift in how Austria regulates online gambling, moving away from the current monopoly structure towards a concession-based model.
The draft does not guarantee market access for businesses that have previously operated in Austria without local authorisation. Instead, it introduces conditions intended to separate future concession holders from operators that continue serving the market outside the national framework.
Unauthorised Operators Face Licensing Exclusions
Companies currently offering unauthorised online gambling in Austria would be required to withdraw by 1 January 2027.
An operator that continued serving the market beyond that date could be excluded from receiving an Austrian concession for 18 months. From 2030, the proposed exclusion period would increase to 24 months.
Applicants would also need to settle outstanding gambling-related tax liabilities and unpaid claims arising from player-protection cases before receiving a concession.
The Ministry of Finance estimates that the requirements could assist approximately 20,000 people in Austria with outstanding claims against unauthorised operators.
Deposit Limits and Self-Exclusion to Be Centralised
Player protection forms a substantial part of the proposed framework.
The draft would establish a central self-exclusion register covering online gambling, land-based casinos and gaming machines. Both operator-imposed restrictions and voluntary self-exclusions would be recorded across the system, limiting the ability to avoid an exclusion by changing providers or gambling products.
Austria also plans to introduce central, cross-operator deposit limits for online gambling. Lower thresholds would apply to customers aged between 18 and 26.
A digital supervisory platform would monitor the central deposit-limit system and support regulatory oversight across licensed businesses.
Operators would also be required to submit analyses examining the potential for their products to contribute to gambling harm, with the information intended to support scientific research.
Enforcement Powers Would Expand
Austria’s authorities would receive additional tools to restrict access to unauthorised gambling services.
The proposals include payment blocking, blacklisting and network-level blocking. The government said these measures are intended to direct more activity towards locally licensed operators and improve enforcement against businesses operating outside the Austrian system.
Changes are also planned for gaming machines, including reduced stakes, slower gameplay and a compulsory cooling-off period after 90 minutes of continuous play.
The draft would retain 13 land-based casino concessions, with the government permitted to award them individually or in packages under specified conditions.
Next Steps for Austria’s Gambling Reform
The European Commission and EU member states will now have the opportunity to review the draft during the standstill period.
Provided the notification process does not result in an extension or substantial objections, Austria can continue towards parliamentary approval once the three-month period ends.
The submission does not mean the reforms are final. Licensing requirements, implementation dates and technical standards may still change during the national and European review processes.
However, the notification represents a formal step towards replacing Austria’s long-standing online monopoly with a regulated concession model while expanding centralised player-protection and enforcement systems.
