Austria’s online casino reform delayed to 7 December after Malta’s objection
Austria’s plan to end the win2day monopoly and license online casinos has been held up in Brussels. Malta sent a detailed opinion under the EU’s TRIS procedure on 4 November, one day before the standstill on notification 2026/0415/AT was due to end, which extends the standstill to 7 December 2026. Austrian commentators now expect parliament to take the bill on 9–11 December. The dates in the bill itself have not moved: licence applications from 1 January 2027 and licensed operation from 1 October 2027, the day after win2day’s current licence runs out. This follows our guide to online casino in Europe, which sets Austria’s planned rules beside the other European markets.
The short version
- Malta’s detailed opinion of 4 November extends the EU standstill on Austria’s bill to 7 December 2026; parliament is expected to deal with it on 9–11 December.
- The bill (Regierungsvorlage 594 d.B.) creates an unlimited number of online licences, granted on application rather than by tender, for up to five years at first and up to ten on renewal.
- Unlicensed operators must leave the Austrian market by 31 December 2026 or be barred from a licence for 18 months; licences can be granted from 1 January 2027 and apply from 1 October 2027.
- Slots would be capped at €5 per game and €10,000 in winnings per game, with at least two seconds per game and a 15-minute break after 90 minutes; deposit limits apply across all operators.
What the bill would change
| Area | What the government bill sets out |
|---|---|
| Online licences | Unlimited number, granted on application to each applicant; up to five years for a first licence, renewals up to ten years |
| Who can apply | Capital companies seated in the EU or EEA, in a state where Austrian judgments can be enforced; tax debts and final player-protection judgments must be settled, including at group level |
| Unlicensed operators | Must stop by 31 December 2026, or face an 18-month bar (24 months if they stop after 31 December 2029) |
| Lotteries and casinos | Lotteries stay a single concession, which may also sell online; 13 land-based casino concessions |
| Deposit limits | Across all operators: €250 per week up to age 26 and €1,680 per month from 26; a higher self-set limit takes effect only after 72 hours |
| Slots | €5 maximum stake and €10,000 maximum win per game, at least two seconds per game, a 15-minute break after 90 minutes of play |
| Registers and supervision | A central self-exclusion register for all products except lotto; a limit register and a game log on a supervised server |
| Enforcement | Payment blocking, network blocking that also covers hosting and search engines, a public blacklist and test play by the anti-fraud office |
| Tax | Online gambling taxed at 45% of gross gaming revenue; bonuses count as stakes and do not reduce the tax base |
The bill reached the Nationalrat on 5 August and was assigned to the Finance Committee on 14 September. Several rules changed from the draft leaked in June, which had a €2 stake cap and a €2,000 win cap per game. The self-exclusion register, payment blocking and network blocking are due to start on 1 January 2027.
Why Malta objected
Malta’s text has not been published, and the EU’s TRIS page still showed the original end date of 5 November when we checked. Under the procedure, a detailed opinion extends the standstill and obliges Austria to explain how it will respond. No other member state or Commission comment has been reported.
The objection sits on top of years of litigation. Austrian players have sued Malta-licensed operators to recover their losses, Malta’s Bill 55 tells Maltese courts not to enforce such judgments, and a Maltese court refused to enforce an Austrian refund judgment in February 2025. In January 2026 the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in Wunner (C-77/24) that a player can generally rely on the law of their country of residence, and its judgment on Bill 55 (C-683/24) is due on 19 November 2026. Austrian commentators read the bill’s requirement that Austrian judgments be enforceable in the licensee’s home state as the point Malta is most likely to contest.
What operators and suppliers should plan for
For operators serving Austria without a licence, 31 December 2026 is the date that matters: stopping later costs at least 18 months before a licence can be granted, and between that date and 1 October 2027 the only legal online casino offer remains win2day. For operators planning to apply, the conditions favour groups with an EU or EEA seat, clean tax records and no unpaid player judgments.
For suppliers, the bill sets no B2B licence, unlike Denmark, Sweden or the UK. Its slot rules still have to be built into games and the platform: two seconds per game, the stake and win caps and the forced break after 90 minutes, plus a game log the regulator can inspect. A catalogue with per-market controls in the casino API can switch these settings on for Austria without touching other markets, and our licence guide compares Austria’s future regime with the hub licences.
Planning for Austria and Europe’s other regulated markets
IGP delivers the platform and 150+ studios with game settings controlled per market, so stake caps, game speed and limits follow each licence. Tell us which European markets you plan to enter.
See iGaming solutions for Europe →Sources: Austrian Parliament: gambling law bill (parliamentary correspondence) (12 August 2026); Austrian Parliament: Regierungsvorlage 594 d.B. (accessed 7 November 2026); Austrian Ministry of Finance: Glücksspielgesetz reform (4 August 2026); CMS: Austria opens up the online market, under strict conditions (10 July 2026); EY Austria: government bill amending the Gambling Act (8 September 2026); iGB: Austrian gambling reform delayed at EU level after Malta intervention (4 November 2026); AffPapa: Austria’s iGaming reforms delayed to 7 December (6 November 2026); European Commission TRIS: notification 2026/0415/AT (notified 4 August 2026); Court of Justice of the EU: Wunner, C-77/24 (15 January 2026); ISA-Guide: CJEU judgment on Malta’s Bill 55 set for 19 November (19 October 2026); iGB: Maltese court will not enforce Austrian player-loss judgments (28 February 2025).