Austria looks set to be the latest European country to move away from its monopoly gambling regime and introduce a competitive licensed online-gambling industry.
The 15-year licence held by current monopoly operator Casinos Austria is due to expire on 30 September 2027, which means authorities are due to start the tender process for new licences this year.
Speaking to the igaming press earlier this month, the vice president of the Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG) Simon Priglinger-Simader expressed optimism “for the first time ever” that regulated online gambling might finally come to Austria.
“We are in a very interesting time at the moment, because it’s the first time for five or more years that politicians have been open to talk to us and are considering a reform and move away from the monopoly system,” he told iGaming Business.
“Now is the time – the now-or-never time – to act. If they want to move away from a monopoly, they will need to start preparing everything in 2025.”
Optimistic as Priglinger-Simader may be about the future of online gambling in Austria, there is still the small issue of policymakers needing to form a coalition government to contend with first.
The country’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been tasked with leading the current negotiations with the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) to form a new government after earlier negotiations between the ÖVP, the centre-left Social Democrats, and the liberal Neos party fell apart in January.
Whatever the outcome, commentators in the igaming press seem relatively convinced that a need to boost government coffers will ultimately impel the new administration to embark on a regulated igaming market akin to those in other European countries.
Meanwhile, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) believes Austria’s ongoing government negotiations present a vital opportunity to transform its gambling regulation based on “European best practices”.
Commenting on the potential for reform in December 2024, the EGBA dubbed the Austrian monopoly “outdated”, arguing that it actively undermines consumer protection, regulatory oversight, and tax generation, and called on government negotiators – chancellor Nehammer (ÖVP), chairman Babler (SPÖ), and chairwoman Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) – to “seize this moment for reform”.
“Austria remains locked in the past, alongside only Poland, in maintaining a monopoly system”, the trade body said. “The consequences are clear: a thriving black market where thousands of Austrian players gamble on unregulated websites beyond the reach of local consumer-protection measures or government oversight.”
The EGBA rightly pointed out that in recent years, there has been momentum away from monopoly gambling regimes across Europe, with Denmark, Sweden, and most recently Finland opening up to competition.
The EGBA highlighted three potential benefits to reform, arguing it would enhance player protection by bringing online gaming into a regulated framework, where consumer protection measures and self-exclusion schemes can be used.
Improved regulatory oversight was also flagged, with the EGBA making the case for a multi-licensing system that gives Austrian authorities greater oversight of the online gambling market and enabling better monitoring, more effective controls, and enforcement powers.
Finally, the lynchpin argument for reform is greater economic benefits. Citing the OVWG, the European trade body argued that Austria is projected to be able to generate an additional €200 million in annual tax revenue, based on current tax rates, through increased channelisation of players from unregulated to regulated platforms. By the EGBA’s calculations, that could equate to as much as €1 billion in additional tax revenue by 2030.
“The evidence from across Europe is clear and compelling: Multi-licensing works. It brings gambling activity into the regulated market, protects consumers, and generates significant tax revenue,” said EGBA Secretary General Maarten Haijer. “With government negotiations underway, Austria has a golden opportunity to modernise its approach to online casino regulation and benefit from the proven regulatory approaches elsewhere. The time to act is now.”
If the Austrians do forge ahead, no doubt we can expect some protracted deliberations around exactly how the regulated market should operate and lots of “the devil’s in the detail” arguments ahead of any proposed launch.
Presumably in a bid to head this off and pave the way as smoothly as possible, the EGBA also helpfully outlined four “essential” steps to achieving reform.
First, there must be a competitive licensing framework to replace the state monopoly. Then a dedicated gambling authority needs to be established, after which consumer protections, such as mandatory safer-gambling tools, requirements for safer-gambling promotion, self-exclusion systems, and responsible advertising, would need to be drawn up. And finally, a tax policy needs to be devised that generates an income, while allowing operators to remain competitive against offshore platforms.
Fortunately, there are plenty of European models to base a liberalised market on. In a world where the concept of over-regulation seems to be coming under closer scrutiny, will Austria be the one to find the regulatory holy grail of achieving watertight player protection, while successfully securing channelisation against offshore disruptors?
Achieving the best practice that the EGBA so strongly advocates is not such a straightforward equation. But if the objective is just to raise taxes, then there’s no doubt a competitive licensed gambling market is a tried-and-tested method.
