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Gambling in Austria: Laws and Online Gambling

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Online gambling in Austria: laws and player risks

Elodie explains online casino rules in Austria, the evidence on player enforcement, offshore risks and how to assess available options. Checked 8 November 2026.

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Published by Casino News Daily editorial teamReviewed byFilip RadulovicOur editorial approach

In short: Austria runs a federal gambling monopoly: online casino games may lawfully be offered only by the lottery concession holder Österreichische Lotterien through win2day, while Casinos Austria holds the land casino concessions. Foreign EU licences do not count, players are not punished, and courts let players reclaim losses from unlicensed operators; a draft law notified in August 2026 would open online licensing.

Austria organises gambling as a federal monopoly. The Gambling Act (Glücksspielgesetz, GSpG) reserves the right to run games of chance to the federal state, which exercises it by granting a small number of concessions: one for lotteries, which also covers online gambling, and a limited number for land-based casinos. Slot machines outside casinos are a matter for the nine provinces. Online, only the lottery concession holder may lawfully offer casino-style games, and a licence from another EU country does not authorise an operator to serve Austrian customers. In August 2026 the government notified the European Commission of a draft law that would replace this model for online gambling with an open licensing system. This guide explains the current framework, its history before the EU courts, the position of players and the proposed reform.

Key points

Section 3 GSpG establishes a federal gambling monopoly; exceptions and concessions are defined in the Act itself.
Österreichische Lotterien holds the single lottery concession, which includes electronic lotteries (online gambling via win2day), until 30 September 2027; Casinos Austria holds the land-based casino concessions.
The Ministry of Finance states that a concession from another EU or EEA state does not entitle an operator to offer gambling in Austria.
Ordinary players are not punishable for taking part in unlicensed gambling, and Austrian courts have allowed players to recover losses from unlicensed online operators.
A draft reform notified to the European Commission on 4 August 2026 would introduce an open concession procedure for online gambling, a central exclusion register and blocking measures against illegal operators.

Regional overview: Gambling laws in the EU and the rest of Europe puts all 55 countries and territories on one map, grouped by how they regulate gambling.

Last reviewed: 5 October 2026.

Historical development

The present Gambling Act dates from 1989 (Federal Law Gazette No. 620/1989) and has been amended many times since; the consolidated text on the federal legal information system lists BGBl. I No. 62/2026 as the most recent amendment (RIS, Glücksspielgesetz). Much of its modern shape is the result of litigation before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

In Engelmann (C-64/08), decided on 9 September 2010, the CJEU examined the twelve casino concessions then in existence, each granted for 15 years and all held by Casinos Austria AG without a public tender. The Court held that requiring concession holders to have their seat in Austria discriminated against companies based in other member states, and that awarding the concessions without a transparent, competitive procedure breached the principle of equal treatment. It accepted, however, that limiting the number of concessions and granting them for long periods could in principle be justified (CJEU press release No 80/10). The Act now requires concessions to be awarded after a public search for interested parties that follows the principles of transparency (see below).

In Pfleger (C-390/12), decided on 30 April 2014, the CJEU ruled on Austrian restrictions on gaming machines. It held that a restrictive gambling regime is compatible with the freedom to provide services only if it genuinely pursues aims such as consumer protection and crime prevention in a consistent and systematic manner (EU Agency for Fundamental Rights case summary). Whether the Austrian monopoly meets that test has since been argued repeatedly before Austrian courts and authorities.

Legal framework

Illustrated Austria landmarks with reference books and documents for the relevant legislation in austria section

The federal monopoly

Section 3 GSpG reserves the right to conduct games of chance to the federal state, subject to the exceptions in section 4. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) explains that the monopoly is intended to channel gambling into a controlled framework in order to limit the risks of addiction and crime. A “monopoly” in this sense means that only the state, or companies to which it grants a concession, may lawfully offer the games concerned.

The Act provides for two types of federal concession:

Lottery concession (section 14). A single concession covers the lotteries listed in the Act, including electronic lotteries. It must be awarded after a public, transparent search for interested parties, to a limited company with a supervisory board and minimum capital of €109 million, for a term of at most 15 years.
Casino concessions (section 21). No more than 15 casino concessions may be granted, each for at most 15 years.

According to the BMF’s register of concession and permit holders, Österreichische Lotterien GmbH holds the lottery concession until 30 September 2027, covering games such as Lotto “6 aus 45”, EuroMillions and Toto as well as online gambling at win2day.at. Casinos Austria AG operates twelve casinos under concessions running until dates between 31 December 2027 and 2030.

Provincial gaming machines

Section 5 GSpG allows the provinces to license slot machines outside casinos (Landesausspielungen) within strict federal limits. In arcades with between 10 and 50 machines, the maximum stake is €10 per game and the maximum win €10,000, with a minimum game duration of one second. For individual machines (no more than three per location), the maximum stake is €1, the maximum win €1,000, the minimum game duration two seconds, and play is limited to three hours a day per player. Provinces may permit no more than one machine per 1,200 inhabitants, or one per 600 in Vienna (GSpG, section 5). Not every province permits such machines. The BMF register lists the permit holders in Burgenland, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Carinthia and Styria, with permits expiring between 2026 and 2039.

Criminal and administrative sanctions

Offering unlicensed gambling is sanctioned on two levels. Section 52 GSpG makes it an administrative offence, and section 168 of the Criminal Code punishes organising or promoting prohibited games of chance with imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 360 daily rates. The BMF notes that a concession granted in another EU or EEA member state “does not entitle” an operator to offer gambling in Austria (BMF, FAQ on the gambling monopoly).

Online gambling

Online casino games on mobile devices

In Austrian law, online casino games, slots and poker are “electronic lotteries” (section 12a GSpG) and fall within the single lottery concession. The only lawful provider of online casino-style gambling in Austria is therefore the concession holder’s platform, win2day.

In practice, operators licensed in other countries have offered online casino games to Austrian residents without an Austrian concession, as the loss-recovery litigation described below shows. Austria currently has no statutory system for blocking access to unlicensed gambling websites or for ordering payment providers to stop processing payments to them; the BMF’s description of the planned reform presents payment blocking, blacklisting and network restrictions as new tools (BMF press release, August 2026). Enforcement has therefore relied mainly on administrative penalties against operators and on civil claims by players.

Position of players

Taking part in unlicensed gambling is not, as such, an offence for ordinary players. The BMF explains that, under section 168(2) of the Criminal Code, players remain unpunished unless they participate on a commercial basis (gewerbsmäßig); players are not the organisers or promoters of illegal games (BMF).

The civil-law consequences have been significant. According to Viennese practitioners, the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) treats gambling contracts with online casinos that hold no Austrian concession as absolutely void, so that stakes were paid without legal basis and can be reclaimed under the rules on unjust enrichment (rechtsanwalt-wien.com). Enforcing such judgments has been harder where operators are based in Malta, whose law since June 2023 prohibits enforcing foreign judgments against Maltese-licensed gambling operators (CJEU, 2026).

Two CJEU cases bear directly on this. In Mr Green (C-198/24), decided on 21 May 2026, an Austrian player who had obtained a 2021 Austrian judgment for the refund of lost stakes sought a European Account Preservation Order against the operator’s bank accounts. The Court held that the court hearing such an application may take into account the debtor’s conduct several years earlier and “the existence, in the Member State where the debtor is established, of a law capable of impeding the enforcement of the claim” (CJEU press release No 76/26). A second reference from the Vienna Commercial Court (C-683/24) asks directly whether the Maltese provision is compatible with EU law; in her opinion of 23 April 2026 the Advocate General took the view that it is not, according to a summary by Hahn Rechtsanwälte. The judgment was pending when this guide was reviewed.

Taxation

Operators pay a set of gambling levies defined in the GSpG. The lottery concession holder pays a concession levy under section 17, whose rates vary by product: for example, 27.5 per cent for number lotteries, bingo and keno, and 45 per cent for electronic lotteries other than video lottery terminals, in the version in force since 1 July 2025 (GSpG, section 17). Casinos pay a separate casino levy (Spielbankabgabe) under section 28, and section 57 imposes a general gambling levy (Glücksspielabgabe) on other games of chance.

For players, winnings from gambling are generally not subject to income tax in Austria because they arise from chance rather than from work or services. This is the position stated by the lottery concession holder (Österreichische Lotterien), which adds that interest or other income later earned on the winnings is taxable in the normal way.

Consumer protection and responsible gambling

Secure account login with a padlock and shield The GSpG requires the Minister of Finance to maintain a player-protection office (Stelle für Spielerschutz), which coordinates work on financial security, health protection and addiction prevention, youth protection and consumer protection. The BMF’s player-protection pages offer a self-test, links to counselling services in each province, officially recognised debt counselling services and the Austrian addiction-prevention network. The office can be contacted at [email protected].

Austria does not yet have a single exclusion register covering all gambling operators; player-protection duties, such as the limits on play for gaming machines described above, attach to the individual concession and permit holders. The proposed reform would introduce a central exclusion register covering casinos, gaming machines and online gambling. General guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.

Recent and upcoming developments

On 4 August 2026 the BMF notified a draft new gambling law to the European Commission, starting a three-month standstill period during which the Commission and other member states may comment; parliament may debate the bill in this period but cannot adopt it before the period ends. According to the ministry’s announcement, the draft would:

introduce an “open concession procedure” for online gambling instead of the single lottery concession model;
require previously illegal operators to stop serving Austria from 1 January 2027, on pain of an 18-month exclusion from licensing (24 months from 2030), and require them to settle tax debts and unpaid player claims;
provide for payment blocking, blacklisting and network restrictions against unlicensed operators;
create a central exclusion register across all gambling products, deposit limits for online gambling and gaming machines, lower limits for players aged 18 to 26, and a mandatory 90-minute break after extended play on slot machines;
fix the number of land-based casino concessions at 13.

The ministry presents the reform as delivering “justice” for around 20,000 harmed players in Austria. No date of entry into force had been published when this guide was reviewed. The expiry of the current lottery concession in September 2027 and of several casino concessions from the end of 2027 makes the timing of the reform significant.

The EU technical regulation record for the draft (TRIS notification 2026/0415/AT) shows that Malta has issued a detailed opinion and that the European Commission has issued comments. Because a detailed opinion on a draft rule on services extends the standstill to four months under article 6(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535, the standstill now ends on 7 December 2026 rather than 5 November 2026, and Austria cannot adopt the law before then. The record lists two stakeholder contributions, from Aleatrust GmbH (7 October 2026) and from DORDA Rechtsanwälte on behalf of Allwyn AG (27 October 2026). The texts of the opinion and the Commission’s comments are not published, and the reasons for Malta’s opinion are not on the record. CND covered the week’s developments in its 7 November regulation roundup.

Sources and further reading

Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Glücksspielgesetz, consolidated version (accessed 5 October 2026).
Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS), Glücksspielgesetz § 17 (Konzessionsabgabe) (accessed 5 October 2026).
Bundesministerium für Finanzen, FAQ zum Glücksspielmonopol (accessed 5 October 2026).
Bundesministerium für Finanzen, Konzessionäre und Ausspielbewilligte (accessed 5 October 2026).
Bundesministerium für Finanzen, Finanzministerium setzt nächsten Schritt zu neuem Glücksspielgesetz (2026).
Bundesministerium für Finanzen, Spielerschutz und Hilfsangebote (accessed 5 October 2026).
Court of Justice of the European Union, Press release No 80/10: Judgment in Case C-64/08, Engelmann (2010).
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, CJEU Case C-390/12, Pfleger: judgment (accessed 5 October 2026).
Court of Justice of the European Union, Press release: Judgment in Case C-198/24, Mr Green (2026).
Hahn Rechtsanwälte, EuGH Sportwetten und Online Casino Urteile 2026 (accessed 5 October 2026).
rechtsanwalt-wien.com, Rückforderung Online-Glücksspiel-Verluste: OGH bestätigt (accessed 5 October 2026).
Österreichische Lotterien, Muss man Casino-Gewinne in Österreich versteuern? (accessed 5 October 2026).

Casino listings for players in Austria

The table below is generated automatically from our casino database. It lists operators that accept players from Austria; inclusion does not mean that an operator holds an Austrian concession, and under current law only the lottery concession holder may offer online casino games in Austria. Check the BMF’s official list of concession and permit holders before playing. For background on how sites are reviewed, see our online casinos section and our overview of gambling laws by country.

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