Austria’s Finance Ministry drafts plans for the next casino tender and says uniform player protection standards will come and operators still ask for a liberal market.

The Austrian Finance Ministry prepares a draft to set the base for a casino tender in the coming months and operators ask again for an end to the monopoly. The ministry confirms work on a draft law ahead of the monopoly tender in 2027. iGB sister title GGB asked for plans to end the monopoly and the ministry gave no details, but a spokesperson says the draft will set the base for tender soon. The draft sets the same rules for player protection for online and land play and loss limits by age and also a gambling authority with its own role and powers. It also includes action on operators not licensed by payment blocking and domain blocking and financial penalties.

Govt Moves Away from Early Gambling Draft

A draft came out in December from the ministry and it kept the monopoly and said action on online operators not licensed.  The draft included payment blocking and domain blocking, secret test plays by regulators and limits on advertising by casinos outside Austria. Many voices said no to the plan and the ministry moved back and said the draft would change. Last year, the government signalled a shift as a three-party coalition said a further development of monopoly in its February pact.

The Austrian monopoly tender runs out next year and that may point to a change. At this time, one licence covers lotteries and online play and one 15-year permit sits with Win2day under Austrian Lotteries under Casinos Austria and that firm also holds all 12 land casino licences and state firm ÖBAG holds 33% stake in Casinos Austria. Attorney Arthur Stadler told iGB in November that 6 of 12 offline casino permits of 15 years end in 2027 and the online licence also ends in 2027. The other 6 offline casino permits end in 2030.

Worst and Best-Case Scenarios for the Sector

International operators say they welcome improved player protection and the key point now sits on a crackdown on unlicensed operators as part of a future multi-licence model or not. Party talks drive outcomes that can shift from a worst-case point to a best-case point. Industry worst-case echoes the leaked Finance Ministry December draft and keeps the monopoly and pushes tough action on black and grey market operators. Austria trade body OVWG president Simon Priglinger-Simader says a direction like that cuts the same tax revenues the government wants to grow. He says payment blocking must follow licensing and he says no plan works from a budget point before that.

A best-case path for the industry opens the market without limits and OVWG says the market could look like Germany and include nearly 30 licensees. Those licensees get oversight by a gambling authority and the government plans to start that by 2029.

The Sector Continues to Rally for an End to the Austrian Gambling Monopoly

GGB speaks to Monika Racek and the Admiral CEO says players now move fast to black market due to a lack of choice under a monopoly. Racek says monopoly drives a black market and players get no protection at all. She says player bans do not exist, limits do not exist and control does not exist and the state loses tax revenue and also loses control of player protection. Market openings across Europe drive Racek to say Austria must drop a backward system and shift to a multi-licence model. Racek says the answer is clear and says a framework must open the market to many licensed providers under strict conditions. Entain joins that call and Entain says Austria needs a liberal licence plan. The operator says open licensing serves all groups and the public and customers and must be adopted.