Austria’s online market to open in October 2027, but illegal operators face an 18-month cooling-off period

Austria has finalised a draft law that will end its online gaming monopoly from October 2027, but entry into the legal market will not be open to everyone on day one. Operators with recent illegal activity in Austria could be blocked for 18 months, which means the first licensing round may exclude much of the grey market.

1. The government’s draft law would open Austria’s online gaming market to multiple operators from October 2027, ending the long-standing monopoly currently held by Austrian Lotteries, a subsidiary of Casinos Austria.
2. According to Krone, the law will include a “cooling off” period when it comes into force next year: companies that operated illegally in Austria during the previous 18 months would be temporarily barred from entering the regulated market. From 2030, that lookback period would extend to 24 months.
3. The same rule would hit Austria’s grey market hard. Many of those operators currently take bets in Austria under an EU licence, but under the draft they would also need to settle unpaid taxes and player claim rulings from previous years before they can get in line for a licence.
4. The Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG) told iGB that the measure would “kill” the government’s channelisation efforts. Association president Simon Priglinger-Simader said the policy would push tax-paying operators out, let the black market back in, and leave an opening gap in the legal market before licences are even issued.
5. The draft also softens earlier proposals on player restrictions. A leaked May version had suggested cutting slot staking limits from €10 to €2; that has now been amended to €5. Potential wins will stay capped at €10,000 rather than the earlier €2,000 draft limit, jackpots will still be allowed, and players will face a weekly deposit cap of €1,680.

For high-risk PSPs and acquirers, the practical point is simple: Austria is not just liberalising online gaming, it is trying to decide which operators deserve a clean route in. A market opening in 2027 sounds broad on paper; in practice, the cooling-off rule, tax clearance requirements, and player-claim checks could keep many familiar names out of the first licensing wave.