Austria Submits Gambling Act Overhaul to European Commission for Notification

^{Austria's Finance Ministry has sent its planned Gambling Act reform to the European Commission for notification, starting a three-month standstill before the law can be adopted. Pictured: the Austrian Parliament in Vienna. (Photo: MrPanyGoff / Wikimedia Commons)}

Austria's Ministry of Finance has submitted its planned overhaul of the country's Gambling Act to the European Commission for review and notification, the ministry announced on 4 August 2026. The step starts a mandatory three-month standstill period, after which the reform can be formally adopted.

The notification is a required stage before any member state can enact national rules covering online services, and it marks one of the most significant changes to Austria's gambling framework in years. At its core, the reform would open online gambling to competing licensees and rebuild the country's player-protection regime, reshaping Austria's gambling market for operators and players alike.

The ministry said the law can only be passed once the standstill period ends, but that Austria's parliamentary process may continue in parallel. The draft, first published on 27 May 2026, was submitted as a ministerial bill and is being advanced by Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer.

Who Can Get an Online Casino Licence?

For online gambling, the bill sets out an open licensing procedure to replace the current single-operator model. To qualify, previously illegal operators must cease offering their services in Austria from 1 January 2027. Those that do not would face a lock-out of 18 months before they can be granted a licence, rising to 24 months from 2030.

Applicants would also have to settle all non-time-barred tax debts and any unpaid player-protection claims. The ministry framed this as delivering justice for around 20,000 players in Austria who it said had been harmed, addressing a long-standing enforcement gap around operators that ran without a domestic licence.

Player protection sits at the centre of the package. For the first time, Austria would introduce a central exclusion register covering every operator and product, recording both self-exclusions and operator-imposed bans across casino gaming, slot machines, and online gambling. The register is designed to stop excluded players moving between products or providers to sidestep restrictions.

For the first time, Austria would log self-exclusions and operator bans in a single national register spanning casinos, slot machines, and online play, while opening its online market to multiple licensees.

The draft also mandates deposit limits for online casinos and slot machines, with lower limits for young adults aged 18 to 26. On slot machines, game speed and maximum stakes would be reduced, and a compulsory cool-down period would follow 90 minutes of play. A digital supervision system would enforce a central, cross-operator deposit limit online.

Cracking Down on Illegal Gambling Sites

To protect the licensed market, the bill provides for payment blocking, black-listing, and network blocking of illegal sites, measures the ministry said should sharply raise the share of play channelled into the regulated market. Comparable moves to tighten gambling advertising rules are under way in other markets as regulators confront offshore operators.

The reform also reworks how land-based casino concessions are awarded. The number of casino licences would be set at 13, with awards permitted in packages. Where a package is granted, the ministry said the priority would be to limit competitive pressure between casinos in the interest of player protection.

During the standstill, the European Commission may raise concerns on state-aid or single-market grounds before Austria can move to adoption. The full outline of the plan is set out in the Finance Ministry's announcement. If the timetable holds, Austria could finalise the legislation later in 2026, with the new licensing regime taking shape from 2027.