Austria Sends Gambling Law Overhaul to EU Review With Open Licensing and New Player Controls

Austria has moved a major gambling-law overhaul into the European review process, opening the next stage of a reform that could change both who may operate online and how gambling products are allowed to work.

iGB reported on 4 August 2026 that Austria’s Ministry of Finance submitted the draft regulations to the European Commission, starting a mandatory three-month standstill period. The proposal would introduce open licensing for online operators, allow a maximum of 13 casino licences and add a national exclusion register covering casino gaming, slot machines and online gambling.

Market access comes with a longer list of conditions

The draft is not simply a plan to replace Austria’s existing structure with more competition. It pairs licensing changes with mandated deposit limits for online gambling and slot machines, including lower limits for young adults aged 18 to 26. iGB also reported proposals to lower maximum stakes, slow slot-machine games and require a cooling-off break after 90 continuous minutes of play.

That combination matters because opening a market can increase choice without automatically improving the player experience. More brands are useful only when the rules behind the brands are visible, enforceable and consistent. Austria’s Federal Ministry of Finance already describes gambling policy as a consumer-protection and addiction-prevention responsibility, alongside crime prevention and youth protection.

TopGamb readers can put the proposal beside our explainers on regulated iGaming markets, casino KYC checks, loss limits, self-exclusion and online gambling safety. The common question is not whether an operator looks modern. It is whether the licence, limits and complaints route are clear before money is deposited.

The exclusion register could close a familiar loophole

A national register is intended to stop an excluded player from moving between different gambling products or operators to bypass a restriction. That is a more useful design than treating each account as a completely separate relationship, although the quality of identity matching and operator compliance will determine how well the idea works in practice.

The draft would also require operators to analyse the addiction potential of their products. That shifts some responsibility upstream. A slot’s speed, a casino’s deposit journey and the way a platform presents repeated play should be part of the regulatory conversation, not just a matter for the player after harm has already appeared.

For now, this is still a proposal moving through review, not a live Austrian rule. The three-month standstill gives the European Commission time to raise concerns, while Austria’s parliamentary process can continue in parallel. Operators that currently provide services illegally are reported to have until 1 January 2027 to stop in order to become immediately eligible for a licence under the draft’s transitional plan.

The editorial point is that Austria is trying to make market access and player protection travel together. That is the right direction, but the final test will be implementation: one register that works across products, limits that are meaningful rather than decorative, and public information that lets players identify the legal operator without detective work.

Further Reading

• iGB: Austria advances draft gambling law to EU review
• Austria Federal Ministry of Finance: Regulation of Games of Chance
• European Commission: TRIS single-market notification procedure
• National Council on Problem Gambling: Responsible Gambling

Reader Questions

Has Austria already adopted the new gambling law?

No. The draft has entered the European review stage and still needs to complete the remaining legislative process before any new rules take effect.

What player protections are proposed?

The proposal includes a national exclusion register, deposit limits, lower limits for younger adults, slower slot games and a cooling-off break after 90 minutes of continuous play.