Allwyn has urged Austria’s Finance Ministry to reconsider its proposed October 2027 online gambling market opening, warning that the timetable may not allow sufficient time to establish the necessary regulatory infrastructure.
The draft Federal Act is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2027, with new concessionaires permitted to begin operations from 1 October. The proposal is currently undergoing European Commission review through the European Union’s Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS), which includes a three-month standstill period.
Allwyn has written to the Commission outlining concerns about the proposed implementation schedule. However, the Austrian Association for Betting and Gambling (OVWG) defended the timetable, stating: “After all, Austria does not need to reinvent the wheel here.”
Allwyn’s interests in Austria’s existing gambling monopoly
The OVWG has long advocated opening Austria’s online gambling market to unlimited concessionaires, describing the proposals as a “major achievement and a significant success for the OVWG, which has been advocating for this reform for years.”
More than four years ago, the association published research by Professor Friedrich Schneider of Johannes Kepler University Linz, which argued that Austria’s existing monopoly was “neither in conformity with the market nor proportionate.” The monopoly is held by Casinos Austria and Österreichische Lotterien, both of which have Allwyn as a shareholder.
Despite its commercial interests, Allwyn maintained that it supports the proposed reforms, particularly:
“The strengthening of player protection, the combatting of illegal online gambling, the channeling of demand into a licensed and supervised offering, ensuring effective regulatory control and the adaptation of Austrian gambling law to the specific characteristics of the digital gambling market.”
Proposed gambling authority raises implementation concerns
Allwyn’s principal concern involves the proposed establishment of a gambling supervisory authority to replace Finanzamt Österreich, Austria’s tax authority, as the online gambling regulator.
The new authority has not yet been established, and the draft legislation provides limited information about its operational readiness. Allwyn’s letter states:
“The notified documents do not reveal when and under what conditions the planned new authority is to be actually established, what human and technical resources it will have, and how the transfer of competences from the Finanzamt Österreich to the new authority is to be managed organisationally and in terms of timing.”
Operator questions readiness of player protection infrastructure
Allwyn described the proposed timetable as “extremely tight”, citing its international experience in implementing gambling regulatory systems. The company said that experience provides “direct insight into the time, resources and technical effort typically required to make such systems fully operational.”
The draft legislation includes a national exclusion register, cross-operator deposit limits, a safe server, blacklisting and whitelisting procedures, payment blocking, internet service provider blocking and coordination between the proposed authority, the Anti-Fraud Office and the Telekom Control Commission.
Allwyn questioned whether these systems could become operational within nine months. “The notified draft establishes no binding or even approximate timeline for any one of these milestones.”
Austrian trade association maintains October 2027 target is achievable
OVWG secretary general Thomas Forstner rejected suggestions that the market opening should be delayed. He said the association remained “convinced that the planned market opening on 1 October 2027 is realistic and that the current timetable will be maintained.”
Regarding the proposed consumer protection systems, Forstner added: “Many European countries already have functioning systems that Austria can learn from.”
He also argued that Finanzamt Österreich could keep supervising gambling activities until the independent authority became operational. “It already has competent and experienced staff who are familiar with gambling matters,” he explained.
Although the OVWG acknowledged that some details remain under discussion, Forstner maintained the association’s support for the reforms. “Our focus now is on making the new licensing system a success and ensuring that Austria becomes an attractive and competitive market for European operators.”
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