Online Casinos in Austria

The Legal Position

Austrian gambling sits under a federal monopoly set out in the Glücksspielgesetz (GSpG). The Bundesministerium für Finanzen states that where a gaming contract is concluded over the internet and the win or loss is decided centrally — which it says is normally always the case — the activity is an electronic lottery under section 12a of the Act, and may be conducted only with the ministry's authorisation. The ministry puts the general principle bluntly: what is not otherwise permitted is also prohibited on the internet, and games such as poker, roulette and blackjack may be offered for money neither in person nor online without a concession under the Act.

One Concession, Not an Open Market

The ministry publishes the list of federal concessionaires. It is published at www.bmf.gv.at/…/konzessionaere-ausspielbewilligte. Österreichische Lotterien GmbH is entitled until 30 September 2027 and conducts the electronic lotteries, the online product, alongside Lotto, Euromillionen, Toto, the letter and scratch lotteries, Keno, Bingo and the rest of the national portfolio. Casinos Austria AG is entitled until 31 December 2027 or 31 December 2030 and operates twelve land-based casinos at Baden, Bregenz, Graz, Innsbruck, Kitzbühel, Kleinwalsertal, Linz, Salzburg, Seefeld, Velden, Vienna and Zell am See. The ministry states that while a concession subsists no other applicant can obtain such an entitlement, and that two private companies currently conduct all presently permitted games under state supervision. A concession granted in another EU or EEA member state does not entitle its holder to offer gambling in Austria.

Who Licenses and Who Supervises

The two roles are held by different bodies. The Bundesministerium für Finanzen authorises electronic lotteries and grants the federal concessions, and section 1(4) GSpG establishes a player protection unit inside the ministry whose work includes assessing the federal concessionaires' player-protection concepts. Supervision of concessioned gambling itself passed from the ministry to the Finanzamt Österreich (Dienststelle für Sonderzuständigkeiten) on 1 January 2021. Separately from the federal monopoly, the provinces license gaming machines in their own territories under provincial law, and the ministry's register lists those provincially permitted operators and the expiry date of each provincial permit.

A Reform in Progress

On 4 August 2026 the ministry announced that it had sent the planned Gambling Act to the European Commission for review and notification, which starts a three-month standstill period; the law can only be adopted once that period has ended, though the parliamentary process may continue during it. The ministry describes the centrepiece of the reform as the re-regulation of online gambling and the modernisation of player protection, and says the draft provides for an open concession procedure for online gambling. On player protection it names a first central exclusion register spanning operators and product types, covering casino, machine and online gambling; deposit limits for online gambling and gaming machines, set lower for people aged between 18 and 26; a mandatory cooling-off period after 90 minutes of machine play; and payment blocking, blacklisting and network blocking to protect the legal market. The draft had not been enacted when this page was written, so nothing in it is stated here as current law.

Sweepstakes Casinos

The dual-currency sweepstakes casino is a United States model, resting on United States sweepstakes and promotional-game law, and it is not a category Austrian gambling law recognises. The permitted forms are those conducted by the named concessionaires under the federal monopoly, and no Austrian source read for this page addresses the sweepstakes model at all. A sweepstakes casino is not a licensed real-money casino and is not an alternative to one.

Player Protection

Player protection in Austria spans livelihood protection, health protection and addiction prevention, protection of young people and consumer protection, and the ministry's unit covers coordination with federal, provincial and regional bodies, assessment of the concessionaires' player-protection concepts, and public information on the risks of gambling. Austria publishes no single national gambling helpline; the ministry instead publishes counselling and treatment services province by province. The specialist clinic Spielsuchthilfe in Vienna takes appointments on (01) 544 13 57 and states that all of its services are free of charge, for gamblers and for the families of problem gamblers alike.