Since Austria held its elections last year in October, the country has been on a political rollercoaster ride with endless twists and turns. Over a gruelling five-month period, the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) held talks with numerous opposition parties, but twice failed to hammer out a coalition deal. All this political uncertainty could impact the sector’s ambitions to liberalise online gambling.

Back in February, the penultimate chapter of the saga saw talks between the ÖVP and the right-wing populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) collapse, forcing the conservatives back into the arms of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Liberal Party (NEOS).  

After whirlwind negotiations, the three parties published their coalition agreement on 27 February, and were sworn in as Austria’s next government on 2 March.  

Under the motto, “Do the right thing for Austria”, the government hopes its new programme will bring about a period of stability and help plug the country’s dire financial deficits.  

But for the gambling industry, the new coalition pact raises as many questions as it answers – not least when it comes to the liberalisation of the current online gambling monopoly model.

Urgent questions for the gambling industry

On pages 28-30 of Austria’s coalition agreement, the three parties set out their vision for structural reforms of gambling in Austria, promising a “further development of the gambling monopoly” and a crackdown on illegal operators. 

Currently, the country has a highly fragmented industry, with both online and land-based casino products offered under a monopoly licence, and sports betting regulated by each of the nine federal states.   

The key question for the industry has been whether a new government will be brave enough to open up the market to multiple licensees in the next tender process. With the current licence due to expire in 2027, it is desperately seeking answers on what’s coming next. 

At present, the market is restricted to just one ‘legal’ operator – Austrian Casinos subsidiary Win2day – which holds a 15-year licence for lotteries and online casino products. Meanwhile, Malta licensees like Tipico, Interwetten and Bwin are also active in the region but without a local licence.

Will Austria keep its monopoly, or liberalise gambling?

Depending on who you ask, the phrase “further development of the gambling monopoly” – or Weiterentwicklung in German – can be interpreted as a continuation of the status quo or a means of leaving the question open. The Austrian Betting and Gaming Association (OVWG) believes the latter is true.  

Pointing to the vague wording of the pact, OVWG vice president Simon Priglinger-Simader said time pressures may have forced negotiators to put online gambling on the backburner.  

“From our discussions with policymakers, we know that the issue of online gambling licences had not yet been negotiated at the time the government was formed,” he said. “There are many key decision-makers in the new government who advocate for a modernisation of the online gambling market in line with European standards.” 

Out of three parties in the coalition, two – the centre-right ÖVP and liberal NEOS – are in favour of reform, while the centre-left SPÖ is believed to be opposed. At the end of five months of back-and-forth, it seems the issue of gambling reform may have been one of many that was pushed onto the “maybe” pile. 

Similarities with previous governments’ views

But not everyone is positive about breaking the deadlock under the current three-party coalition.  

Dr Arthur Stadler, founding partner at the Vienna-based law firm Stadler Völkel, sees many parallels between previous coalitions and the current government – and points out that these centre-right and centre-left groupings have always struggled to agree on gambling.  

“While the liberalisation of online gambling in Austria is long overdue, the coalition agreement reads in many parts very similar to the previous government’s coalition paper,” said Stadler. “Take, for example, the development of the monopoly framework, reinforced by IP blocking and payment blocking – this closely mirrors the approach taken over the past decade under the Grand Coalition of the ÖVP and SPÖ.  

“Even four years ago, during the coalition between the conservatives and the Greens, the positions set out in the coalition agreement remained largely unchanged.” 

All of this means that Austria’s gambling market is “in urgent need of an overhaul,” Stadler said.  

Glimpses of hope for gambling liberalisation

For those looking for light on the horizon, however, there are some signs that the door to liberalisation has been left open – at least by a crack.  

The first is the frequency of the word Weiterentwicklung (“further development”), which is used in the coalition pact around 130 times. According to OVWG, this wording seems to be a way of pushing back some of the tougher coalition talks to a later date.  

The second relates to some of the more concrete plans set out in the pact. These range from new player protection measures to the establishment of an independent gambling authority who would take over from the Ministry of Finance in issuing future licences. 

According to Priglinger-Simader, the new gambling authority and certain player protection regulations only make sense if you assume that Austria’s market will be liberalised in the coming years. For example, the parties say they will look at introducing “an operator-independent player ID card with various functionalities to ensure player protection”, including a self-exclusion register. 

As the OVWG vice president points out, this implies a market with multiple regulated operators who could participate in any player ID and self-exclusion scheme.  

Neutering the Ministry of Finance 

Another positive sign is the plan to “debundle” the various roles held by the Finance Ministry. As well as acting as the regulator and authority for the industry, the ministry is also responsible for collecting taxes from it, and even owns a 33.3% stake in monopoly operator Austrian Casinos and Austrian Lotteries.  

“Specifically, the areas of player protection, supervision, regulation, licensing and the fiscal and ownership interests of the Federal Ministry of Finance will be unbundled,” the coalition pact states. Instead, the ministry’s licensing and oversight roles will be transferred to an “independent supervisory authority” that will adhere to “international standards”.  

Significantly, the more gambling-sceptic SPÖ is set to take control of the Ministry of Finance, so the move to set up an independent body could be seen as a ploy to put gambling in more neutral hands. It should also put to bed ongoing accusations of a conflict of interest, which were rife after the controversial tender process back in 2012.  

According to Stadler, the move towards an independent licensing body is “a positive sign” and one that will be hugely significant when the next tender proceedings begin.  

“There are signs that a significant market transformation is underway, closely intertwined with a regulatory shift from a monopolised online casino market to a multi-licensed framework,” he said. “However, the language used in the coalition agreement could have been more explicit. Now is the time to open the market and liberalise.”  

Betting levy in Austria to increase dramatically?  

While the future of online licensing remains unclear, there is some clarity on the financial burdens operators can expect.  

On Friday, the coalition voted to raise the 2% betting levy to 5% – a 150% hike on the current tax rate – on 1 April this year.  

“Austria’s betting market was – compared to Germany – a more attractive one, so it remains to be seen how operators will react, and whether they pass this additional tax burden onto their customers,” said Stadler. 

Viewing the unpopular industry as a potential cash cow, the government believes it can raise €50 million from gambling in 2025 and as much as €220 million in 2030. The OVWG believes that this second figure would be unattainable relying on tax hikes alone, meaning lawmakers would have to liberalise the market to achieve their target sums.  

The clock is ticking on market liberalisation

With the current casino licences due to expire in September 2027, the government has just two and a half years to establish its new gambling authority, issue licences, and fend off potential legal battles. 

Whether the market is opened or not – and particularly if it isn’t – the next tender process is expected to be more competitive and embattled than ever.  

Operators may form coalitions in order to be able to meet experience requirements set by the regulator, and if the process is deemed biased or unfair, challenges will undoubtedly be raised at administrative courts around the country, says Stadler.

Some of these could even reach the Constitutional Court and drag out the tender process by a year or more. 

All of this puts the government on a very tight deadline to try and establish its new authority. This would have to be done within the year, with details of the tender process – and a final decision on licensing – published shortly afterwards.  

In the meantime, lobbying work will be continuing at a ferocious pace behind the scenes – with those who support the current monopoly, and those who oppose it, battling hard for precedence.  

“Whatever comes out of this, we will probably see at the latest in September or October,” said Priglinger-Simader. “But it’s still an open race for us I’d say.”