Read our full guide on online gambling in Austria.
Online casino gambling is indeed legal in Austria. However, there are restrictions on who gets licensed to offer online gambling in the country. The Casino Austria AG (CASAG) operates all land-based casino (such as Casino Wien) in Austria. These casinos are also licensed to offer online casino games.
The Casino Austria AG is partly state-owned and the only company licensed to offer so-called large-scale gambling (meaning those types of games where considerable stakes may be involved). Small-scale gambling, such as playing poker for a few cents at home or with friends, is legal everywhere and can thus be played everywhere. This also applies to land-based slot machine parlours. More on that below.
Sports betting is a matter of the federal states in Austria and different regulations apply in different states. By and large, sports betting and online sports betting are legal in Austria.
The only fully legal online casino site with an Austrian license is currently win2day.at .
All other online casinos that Austrian customers are able to sign up to are not licensed by the Austrian government under the Austrian Gambling Act (“Glückspielgesetz 1989”).
Under the act, local casinos are able to provide large-scale gambling to Austrian customers. Nowadays, this also includes online gambling.
Small-scale gambling usually falls under the jurisdiction of the federal states. This does not include online gambling, but pertains to gambling activities such as private poker games for small stakes or slot machine parlours, where stakes are limited to 1 Euro per spin (or up to 10 Euro under a casino license).
International online casino sites are still considered illegal under current Austrian gambling laws.
Sports betting is under the purview of the individual Austrian federal states. For many years, sports betting was limited to the many betting shops in Austrian cities. Some federal states are very restrictive with such betting shops and don’t allow them at all, whereas customers will find many betting shops in other states.
Admiral is an Austrian-owned and operated betting operator with many betting shops around the country. They are also available online.
The CASAG has effectively a gambling monopoly in Austria, which is not aligned with European law.
Given the Austrian gambling monopoly, there is some tension between Austrian law and European law, which stipulates freedom of services across the EU. European law therefore allows international online casinos with European licenses, such as from Malta or Gibraltar, to offer their services wherever they choose.
The Austrian monopoly stands in direct opposition to the freedom of services the EU allows, though the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled in 2016 that this restriction is justified as it serves the prerogative of protecting players.
The objectives of current Austrian gambling laws are:
The Ministry of Finance pages explicitly state that international gambling offers are prohibited and punishable by law. Indeed, in the last few years more and more Austrian customers have sued international gambling sites for a refund of their losses. Since these international sites operate illegally in Austria, courts have been ruling in favour of customers.
Since this is problematic for international online casinos, some of them will no longer accept customers from Austria.
For now, the EU has not forced Austria to change their current laws, even though in 2014 the European High Court decided that Austrian law is not in accordance with EU regulations.
The Law on Games of Chance (“Glücksspielgesetz”) is applicable to lotteries, gambling and casinos in Austria. The responsible ministry for all things gambling is the Ministry of Finance.
In 2012, the Casinos Austria AG received a 15-year exclusive gambling license, establishing the current monopoly.
The CASAG operates 12 land-based casinos, which are allowed to offer their games online as well.
The only Austrian online gambling site, win2day.at, is operated by the “Österreichische Lotterien GmbH”, which is licensed to offer lotteries, goal betting and scratch cards.
The Austrian Gambling Act also stipulates measures that are to be taken to ensure consumer protection. This includes stake limits for games of chance and sports betting (which varies depending on the state) as well as win limits.
Under Austrian law, winnings from gambling are not taxed.
Q: Is online gambling legal in Austria? A: Yes, but the Austrian gambling monopoly is very restrictive and does not allow international online gambling operators to offer their online casinos in Austria. Q: Is there a deposit limit for gamblers? A: No. As far as our research indicates, this is not one of the measures taken to prevent problematic gambling behaviours. Q: Is there a stake limit on slots or betting? A: Slot machines usually have a stake limit of 1 Euro per spin. Limits to stakes in sports betting vary between states and the types of bets that are placed. Q: Can Austrian customers use international online casinos? A: Yes, they can. Under EU law, properly licensed international online casinos enjoy freedom of service and may allow Austrian customers to sign up here. Strictly speaking, however, they are considered illegal under Austrian law.
https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/austria https://www.bmf.gv.at/en/topics/taxation/regulation-of-games-of-chance.html https://europakonsument.at/en/online-gambling-austria/6058
https://www.finanz.at/ratgeber/gluecksspiel-oesterreich-rechtlich/ https://ceelegalmatters.com/austria/21381-austria-online-gaming-and-the-tension-between-national-and-eu-law https://www.sbo.net/de/oesterreich/
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