Amnesty for illegal gambling providers: Can they buy their way out?

The new law is scheduled to come into force in summer 2026 and the planned market opening will take place in 2029. Particularly explosive: The draft provides for a kind of amnesty for previously illegal providers, and there are many of them. Anyone who applies for a license must pay all outstanding taxes since the start of business in Austria. With a tax rate of 40 percent on gross gaming revenue, this can result in hefty amounts.

But a number of illegal providers who work with licenses in Malta and Gibraltar are already paying taxes. These companies pay any additional claims from their petty cash. In addition, the future concessionaires must recognize successful player protection lawsuits and settle the claims. As a rule, these providers reach an agreement with the complaining players.

“Margaret Thatcher would have been happy”

The current draft law is met with massive criticism from the monopoly Casinos Austria. Your spokesman Patrick Minar describes the planned regulations as “catastrophic” – for everyone involved, including those who are in favor of opening up the market. “This is the most radically market-liberal way to open the market. Margaret Thatcher would have been happy,” says Minar. He sees the core problem in a double player protection regime: the stricter rules of so-called “small games of chance” should also be applied to the existing online protection regulations. This slot machine gambling is permitted in the federal states of Burgenland, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Salzburg.

Limitation of maximum winnings

The new law leads to drastic restrictions for future license holders. In the future, players will only be allowed to wager two euros per game round, the maximum winnings will be capped at 2,000 euros and the duration of the game will be interrupted for a quarter of an hour after 90 minutes. By limiting the maximum win, any jackpot is prohibited.

“With these restrictions, it will be a very unattractive offer,” warns Minar. The consequence: Players would immediately migrate back to illegality if the future legal offer is unattractive. Minar sees the draft as a lose-lose situation: economically, the offer will hardly be attractive for players due to the restrictions.

Exclusion criteria required

Instead, he calls for strict exclusion criteria. Providers who have been operating illegally in recent years should not receive a license. “You have to give them a deadline and say: Anyone who has been offering illegal services for the last three or five years, who has broken the law, is excluded from applying for a license,” suggests Minar. “This would favor those providers who voluntarily withdrew from the illegal business in Austria years ago in order to be legally compliant.”

Association welcomes the draft law

Meanwhile, the Austrian Association for Betting and Gambling (OVWG) welcomes the draft. “It’s a great thing and the right way,” says Thomas Forstner from the OVWG to the KURIER. “This means that Austria will finally meet European standards. But there are still a few points of discussion, such as the limits. It’s not as easy to get the license as Mr. Minar says. It’s not enough if you pay the tax debts and apply. There are other conditions. There’s the issue of player complaints and how they will be served. What will you do there in the future. That’s all still open.”