Austria is set to unveil a long-awaited online gambling bill following an agreement on key regulatory issues between the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ). A draft of the legislation is expected to enter political debate in the coming weeks, with implementation planned for the latter part of the first half of 2026.
Parties Agree on Gambling Reform
The legislative initiative comes ahead of the 2027 expiration of licenses for lotteries, online gambling, and six land-based casinos. An earlier effort by the former ÖVP-Greens government to create a dedicated gambling regulator faltered due to political disagreements, especially concerning player protection measures.
According to ÖVP budget spokesperson Andreas Hanger and his SPÖ counterpart Kai Jan Krainer, both parties are in agreement on tightening regulations and boosting player protections. This effort will particularly target the rapidly expanding online sector, which is currently served only by the Austrian Lotteries under a domestic license.
Talk of ending the Austrian state monopoly on gambling has stretched for quite a while now. Casinos Austria, the national operator, will most likely end its monopoly at the end of this year. When that comes, Austria might allow as many as 30 licensees into the country.
Many More Things Need to Be Ironed Out First
Several key political questions remain unresolved, including whether the number of licenses should be limited or unrestricted. Technical and legal challenges are also under discussion, such as implementing blocks on unlicensed websites and restricting payments to unlicensed operators, which would prevent deposits from Austrian accounts.
This is looked at because many international operators continue to draw Austrian customers through the country’s grey market. Some hold EU licenses from jurisdictions such as Malta or Gibraltar and pay taxes, while others operate without any license and contribute nothing. In recent years, the grey market has been the focus of numerous legal cases, with players successfully claiming repayment of all their past losses because these operators had been operating outside the legal framework.
Once budget and finance spokespersons have reviewed the draft and the Council of Ministers reaches an agreement, Brussels will be notified. If this happens, Austria’s new framework could drastically change one of Europe’s most competitive regulated markets.