Online gambling in Austria: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Austria?

Under the Glücksspielgesetz (GSpG) the federal government holds the gambling monopoly and grants concessions: one lottery concession covering electronic lotteries, which is the legal basis for win2day, and casino concessions held by Casinos Austria. Private online casino and poker are prohibited, Austrian courts routinely order unlicensed operators to refund player losses, and the tax office assesses a 40% gambling levy on unlicensed online GGR. Sports betting is not gambling under federal law and is licensed by the nine Länder, including online. In June 2026 the coalition agreed the largest GSpG reform in 26 years; the government bill (594 d.B.) reached the Nationalrat on 5 August 2026 and was in the Finance Committee as of September 2026.

State monopoly: A state or single licensee runs online gambling; private operators cannot be licensed.

Who regulates gambling in Austria?

• Bundesministerium für Finanzen / Finanzamt Österreich (Glücksspielaufsicht) (BMF) — Grants federal concessions, supervises concessionaires and collects gambling levies; the 2026 bill prepares a separate gambling supervisory authority, with the Finanzamt Österreich competent in the interim
• Land governments (Wettgesetze) — Each of the nine Länder licenses bookmakers and totalisators, including online sports betting, under its own betting act

Austria gambling licence: how it works

No private operator can obtain an Austrian online casino, poker or lottery licence today. The single lottery concession, which includes electronic lotteries (online), belongs to Österreichische Lotterien and runs to 30 September 2027; Casinos Austria holds the land-based casino concessions. Sports betting is the exception: bookmaker licences are granted by the Länder, and several international brands operate under them. The 2026 government bill would create an open concession system for online gambling with no cap on numbers. Under the draft, concessions could be granted from 1 October 2027 at the earliest, would initially run for at most five years and would have to be exercised through an Austrian corporation. Applicants would need to have stopped any unlicensed Austrian offer from 1 January 2027 (a cooling-off period, with an 18-month exclusion for those who continue), settle outstanding gambling levies and court-ordered player refunds across their group, and avoid brands previously used for unlicensed offers unless those debts are cleared. The bill was not yet passed as of September 2026.

What an applicant needs

• Today: no route for private online casino or poker; only Land bookmaker licences for sports betting
• Draft 2026 regime: Austrian corporation as concession holder, initial term up to five years
• Draft: cooling-off from 1 January 2027 and proof that all levies and player-refund judgments are settled
• Draft: connection to a cross-operator deposit-limit register and a national exclusion register
• Draft: statutory deposit limits of €250 per week under age 26 and €1,680 per month from 26, adjustable from age 23 with monitoring
• Draft: application and grant fees scaled to the value of the concession

Gambling taxes in Austria

• Operators: The lottery concessionaire pays a concession levy of 45% of GGR on electronic lotteries since 1 July 2025 (GSpG § 17, previously 40%). Unlicensed online gambling with Austrian participation is assessed a gambling levy of 40% of GGR (GSpG § 57(2)). Land-based casinos pay the casino levy; Land bookmakers pay betting fees and duties set by each Land.
• Players: None on winnings from licensed games.
• Also: The 2026 bill adds a 0.1% financing contribution for a player-protection and market-monitoring unit and treats bonuses as stakes for levy purposes, with small deductible allowances. Betting duties are to be aligned to European levels under the government program.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Only concessionaires and Land-licensed bookmakers may advertise; promotion of unlicensed gambling is an administrative offence. The draft bill tightens advertising rules and bans advertising for prohibited offers outright.

Responsible gaming

Concessionaires must operate player-protection programs, age checks and self-exclusion. The draft introduces a national exclusion register covering casinos, slot halls and online play, a cross-operator limit register, self-set limits with a 72-hour delay on increases, and a €5 maximum stake with a €10,000 win limit on slot machines and online slots, while lifting the jackpot ban.

Identity and age verification

Age 18 for lotteries and online play; identity verification before play is required for win2day accounts and casino entry. Land betting acts set their own age and identification rules.

Payments

win2day accepts Austrian bank transfer, cards and e-wallets. Austrian courts have ordered refunds of losses paid to unlicensed operators, and the draft bill introduces payment blocking against them; cryptoassets are not part of the licensed offer.

Notable restrictions

• Private online casino, poker and lottery are prohibited until a new concession system takes effect
• Players may reclaim losses from unlicensed online casinos through the civil courts
• Unlicensed operators face a 40% GGR levy assessment plus penalties
• Draft: operators still serving Austria after 1 January 2027 are barred from concessions for 18 months
• Draft: ISP blocking orders by the Telekom-Control-Kommission with fines up to €1 million for non-compliance

Austria iGaming market: size, players and payments

No reliable public estimate of Austrian online GGR; the government's reform materials refer to roughly 20,000 players with refund claims against unlicensed operators, and the reform is justified by a growing illegal online market.

win2day is the only legal online casino and poker site; sports betting is contested by Land-licensed brands such as bwin, Tipico, Admiral and bet-at-home; Casinos Austria runs twelve casinos, with the draft bill fixing thirteen locations.

Timeline: how Austria got here

1. 1989Glücksspielgesetz codifies the federal gambling monopoly and concession system
2. 2010GSpG amendment introduces the 40% levy on electronic lotteries and Land slot licensing
3. 2020Supreme Court case law confirms players can reclaim losses from unlicensed online casinos
4. 2025-03Coalition program commits to separating gambling supervision from the ministry's ownership interests and to blocking illegal online offers
5. 2025-07Concession levy on electronic lotteries raised from 40% to 45% of GGR
6. 2026-06Coalition agrees the GSpG reform; draft opens an unlimited online concession system and goes to consultation
7. 2026-08Government bill 594 d.B. introduced to the Nationalrat and referred to the Finance Committee
8. 2027-09Current win2day concession expires; draft allows new online concessions from 1 October 2027

Outlook

The reform bill needs a Nationalrat vote and Bundesrat passage; as of September 2026 it sat in the Finance Committee after the summer recess. If adopted broadly as drafted, operators that want an Austrian online concession must exit the Austrian market by 1 January 2027, clear levies and player-refund judgments, and prepare an Austrian company for applications ahead of concessions from October 2027. A separate gambling supervisory authority, ISP and payment blocking and the national exclusion register are expected to follow the law's publication.

Launching in Austria with GameBridge

Model decided with counsel. Private online casino is prohibited until the new concession system is law, so GameBridge does not serve Austrian casino players today; operators preparing for the 2027 concession round, or running a sportsbook under a Land licence, should discuss configuration and timing with us.

By default GameBridge brands exclude Austria through geo-controls for casino, live casino and poker. A Land-licensed sportsbook can run on GameBridge today with German as the site language, a euro wallet and Austrian payment methods on request. For the planned concession system we prepare the compliance layer in advance: statutory deposit limits by age band, a limit-register lookup before each deposit, exclusion-register checks at login, the €5 stake and €10,000 win limits on slots, and reporting formats for the future supervisory authority, with certification packages for GameBridge Studios and Originals ready for the Austrian approval process once it is defined.

• Austria geo-excluded for casino and poker by default
• German site language and euro wallet for Land-licensed sportsbooks
• Deposit limits configurable by age band with monitoring triggers
• Registry lookups for limits and exclusions at deposit and login
• Stake and win caps per game configuration
• Certification package for GameBridge Studios and Originals

Austrian demand centers on lottery-style games, slots and football betting; when concessions open, the aggregated catalog and GameBridge Studios exclusives will be configured to the €5 stake and €10,000 win rules, and the sportsbook module covers the Bundesliga and Champions League calendar Land-licensed bookmakers already serve.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Glücksspielgesetz, Telekommunikationsgesetz, Änderung (594 d.B.) — Parlament Österreich, accessed 2026-09-11
• Ministerialentwurf 125/ME: Erläuterungen zur Neuregulierung des Online-Glücksspiels — Parlament Österreich, accessed 2026-09-11
• Glücksspielgesetz § 17 Konzessionsabgabe (Fassung ab 1. Juli 2025) — Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), accessed 2026-09-11
• Koalition einig über neues Glücksspielgesetz – Entwurf geht heute in Begutachtung — APA-OTS (Parlamentsklubs ÖVP, SPÖ, NEOS), accessed 2026-09-11
• Mehr Online-Konzessionen: Regierung einig bei Glücksspielgesetz — Die Presse, accessed 2026-09-11
• Regierungsprogramm 2025–2029 (Glücksspiel) — Bundeskanzleramt, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.