Austria publishes draft online gambling rules with €10m share capital threshold and payment blocking powers

Austria has opened public consultation on the liberalisation of its online gambling market, with the initial licensing conditions now public after the triparty coalition set October 2027 as the target launch date. For PSPs and acquirers, the draft matters for one simple reason: it combines a high entry threshold, strict player controls, and explicit payment-blocking powers.

1. The consultation paper says any eligible operator can apply for a licence if it meets the required criteria, including having a supervisory board, effective AML and player protection compliance, and at least €10m in share capital. That capital bar is high by European standards and points toward larger international operators rather than smaller entrants.
2. The draft licence fee would be €70,000. Operators would also have to stop offering online gambling in Austria by 1 January 2027 until their licence is granted, and any operator that breaks that rule would be barred from receiving a licence for 18 months from that date.
3. Licences would be available only to operators whose home state allows Austrian court judgements to be enforced. The draft also says applicants must have resolved all tax debts and outstanding player protection claims before entering the market.
4. On player protections, weekly deposits for 18-26-year-olds would be capped at €250, while players aged 26 and over would have monthly deposits of €1,680. An increase in deposit limits would be possible on a case-by-case basis for anyone aged 23 and above. Online play would be limited to €5 per stake, with a total win cap of €10,000.
5. The tech draft provisions also include a two-second spin duration and a cooling-off break after a 90 minutes game session. Jackpot features would no longer be banned, the number of land-based licences statewide would be set at 13, and the regulator would get payment blocking powers to blacklist IBANs and issue blocking orders to payment providers.

For payment providers, that last point is the one to watch. Austria is not just talking about licensing; it is building a framework where the regulator can reach into bank rails and PSP workflows, which means onboarding rules, transaction monitoring, and merchant exposure will matter from day one.