Can Austria’s new iGaming regime deliver channelisation?

The chips have fallen. After weeks of arduous negotiations, a draft of Austria’s new gambling law has now been submitted to parliament. Following endless amendments and redrafts, it sets out a framework for a fully regulated, multi-operator online market.

Having finalised the draft last week, the government is now racing against the clock. On 1 October 2027, the 15-year sole licence for online gaming and lotteries – currently held by Austrian Lotteries’ subsidiary Win2Day – is set to expire. If all goes to plan, this date will mark the end of one of the last online casino monopolies in Europe.

For Austria’s EU-licensed grey market, however, there’s a catch. Anyone currently active in the market will have to cease offering gambling services by January 2027 or face an 18-month ban from the market. For operators still active in the market by 2030, this will increase to two years.

Between January and October next year – at the earliest – there will be a nine-month hiatus on unlicensed operations . Would-be licensees will be expected to use this time to settle existing player claims and any unpaid taxes from previous years. The claims alone, according to the Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG), amount to several million euros.

Timeline doubts for Austria’s iGaming target

As political analyst Felix Geyer points out, it is far from guaranteed that the government will meet this deadline. If, as expected, the law is passed in parliament in July, it will kick off a three-month EU notification period, meaning the law could come into force in October at the earliest.

This gives the Finance Ministry approximately a year to set up its new tender process, review applications and award licences. During this time, the lotteries licence – which is set to be split from the online gaming licence and remain a monopoly – will also need to be awarded. Preparations for a new gambling authority, which will take over from the Finance Ministry, will also commence.

“Given how slow political processes in Austria can be, I’m sceptical about whether they will be able to hand out licences within 12 months,” Geyer tells iGB. “Especially since I don’t expect them to begin before the law actually comes into force.”

There is also speculation that challenges from Malta at the EU level could delay the notification process. Amid this uncertainty, there are fears that the transition period could stretch out longer than expected, creating a vacuum in the legal market.

An earlier draft of the law obtained by iGB had initially mentioned a firm October 2027 deadline for issuing the licences. By the time the draft was submitted to parliament, this date was conspicuously absent.

“I would hope the Finance Ministry has clear communication from the moment the law is passed so everybody knows what to expect,” Geyer adds. “This process is about player protection and clearing the black market. If there is uncertainty, that could potentially lead players and operators back to the black market.”

Good actors have already withdrawn from Austria’s iGaming market

On 15 June, Austria’s Krone newspaper reported that the government were planning an 18-month “cooling off” period , increasing to 24 months from 2030. This proposal, which remains in the draft as a threat to non-compliant operators, was reportedly favoured by the Chamber of Commerce and conservative People’s Party (ÖVP), as well as monopolist Casinos Austria. It was also publicly supported by Tipico-owned Admiral , a prominent land-based operator.

If adopted, the proposals would have given operators like Tipico and Merkur – which ceased their online operations well ahead of the new legislation – a headstart in the market. Meanwhile, EU-licensed operators which had offered services in the past 18 months before market opening would have been forced to wait on the sidelines.

As it is, however, only existing licensee Casinos Austria, and its subsidiary Austrian Lotteries, will stand to benefit from the n