Austria Sends Gambling Reform Bill to European Commission, Targets 2027 Exit for Unlicensed Online Operators

Austria has submitted its proposed gambling law to the European Commission, putting the country’s long-running online gambling monopoly on track for a full rewrite. For PSPs and operators, the interesting part is not the political theater; it’s the licensing reset, the hard stop for unlicensed activity by January 1, 2027, and the fact that payment blocking, blacklisting, and IP bans are now explicitly in the toolbox.

1. The bill is now with the European Commission for review, which means a three-month pause while the text is checked against EU rules. During that period, the Commission and other member states can submit comments and suggestions. Only after that review can Austrian lawmakers move to pass the bill into law.
2. On paper, the reform ends Austria’s online gambling monopoly and replaces it with a licensing system modeled on other European jurisdictions. Companies that want to offer online gambling will face strict requirements, and platforms already operating in the country without a license must stop by January 1, 2027. If they do not, they could be blocked from applying for up to 18 months.
3. There is also a payments and compliance hook that high-risk providers will notice immediately: any company applying for a license must first pay outstanding tax debts and settle unpaid player protection lawsuits. The bill also provides for payment blocking, blacklisting, and IP bans against unlicensed entities, all designed to push traffic toward regulated operators and away from the black market.
4. The land-based market is being reshaped too. Austria plans to cap casino licenses at 13, with the option to award them in packages. Package applications will face extra regulatory scrutiny to keep the allocation balanced and limit competitive pressure between casinos.
5. Player protection gets a proper technical layer. The draft includes a digital system for operator-independent deposit limits, with lower thresholds for people under 27. Slot machines would face a mandatory cooling-off period after 90 minutes of play, and Austria would get a centralized exclusion register for casino, slot machine, and online gambling for the first time.

The thing is, this is the kind of reform that affects both sides of the market at once: licensed operators get a new route in, while unlicensed traffic gets a clearer set of obstacles. Some industry representatives are already warning that overly restrictive rules could push customers back to black-market alternatives, with Germany often used as the cautionary example.