Austria sends draft gambling overhaul to the European Commission, with open licensing and new deposit caps

Austria’s Ministry of Finance has formally sent its draft gambling reform to the European Commission, starting the mandatory three-month standstill period before the rules can be enacted. For PSPs, acquiring teams, and payment compliance desks, the interesting part is not the Brussels paperwork itself: it is the mix of open licensing, payment blocking tools, and tighter player controls that would reshape how Austrian-facing gambling traffic is processed.

1. The draft would move Austria toward open licensing for online gambling operators, with transitional rules attached. Operators currently serving the market illegally would need to stop by 1 January 2027 to become immediately eligible for a licence.
2. If they do not comply, the draft sets an enforced waiting period of 18 months, rising to 24 months from 2030. Applicants would also have to settle outstanding tax liabilities and unpaid claims from approximately 20,000 affected players.
3. The package includes a national exclusion register covering self-exclusions and operator-imposed bans across casino gaming, slot machines and online gambling platforms. In practice, that is meant to stop players from hopping between products or operators to get around restrictions.
4. Austria would also mandate deposit limits for online gambling and slot machines, with stricter, lower limits for young adults aged 18 to 26. The draft further calls for lower maximum stakes, slower slot machine speeds, and a cooling-off break after 90 continuous minutes of play.
5. On the enforcement side, the reform adds a digital supervisory platform with a central, operator-independent deposit limit, plus payment blocking, blacklisting and network blocking aimed at preventing illegal operators from serving Austrian customers.

The draft also requires operators to analyse the addiction potential of their gambling offerings. The Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG) is sceptical that the transition period will drive high channelisation to Win2Day or legal land-based operators, and says the black market could end up being the bigger winner.