Austria Online Casino Guide

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Legal casino gambling age in Austria

Gambling Industry Overview in Austria

The following approaches will be presented

Gambling legislation in Austria
Gambling authorities in Austria
Online casinos in Austria
and more

Gambling is one of the most popular pastimes in Austra. In addition, public interest has been focused on the country's gambling legislation for quite some time.

The Austrian rules concerning the procedures of issuing licenses to local operators have been criticized by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which accused it of being a gambling monopoly. That is the reason why the Australian legislator has concentrated its efforts to make a significant revision to the country's current Gambling Act.

Overview

Flag of Austria All types of gambling activities and games are currently legal at the casinos of Austria. However, the gambling industry in the country is strictly regulated by the Government. The legislation is put in a state similar to the ones that can be found in a large number of European countries.

Austria's latest national gambling bill was passed a decade ago, in June 2010. The bill was aimed at imposing tougher licensing standards in the country. It, however, had a beneficial impact too, due to the fact that it allowed slot machines to be located throughout the entire country.

Currently, Austria is put in a unique situation when it comes to gambling legislation. This is due to the fact that the law distinguishes between “proper” gambling that involves large amounts of money and “Kleines Glücksspiel”, or so-called “small gambling” that is actually gambling with small bets that amount to 50 cents or less. Small gambling also includes low-stakes card table and card games, as well as low-stakes slot machines.

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According to Austrian laws, “proper” gambling is allowed in casinos only. On the other hand, “small gambling” is permitted literally everywhere. However, not every state in the country permits this type of gambling. All this makes the gambling laws of Austria difficult to understand. The thing that usually confuses foreigners is not only the fact that the legislation is based on stakes, but also that the separate states have their own individual laws.

Relevant Legislation in Austria

Gambling Legislation in Austria According to the Federal Constitutional Act of Austria, monopoles are allowed to be established in the country by the federal legislator. Such a national gaming monopoly was found in section 3 of the Glücksspielgesetz (the Austrian Gaming Act).

Currently, gaming and gambling activities in the country are controlled in correspondence to the rules imposed within the Austrian Gaming Act. The latter divides the regulatory jurisdiction between the federal state and the nine provinces in the country depending on the gaming product.

The rules set by the country's legislation are aimed at ensuring that the security standards are not violated by any gaming operators. The country's gambling laws are also focused on minimizing the level of risk that players are exposed to, as well as reducing the risk of gaming and gambling operations to be used for criminal purposes. They also regulate taxation in order to ensure certain cash flows generated from the industry.

As of June 2020, the lottery market in Austria remains a monopoly, with only one operator, Casinos Austria, having a license. The casino market, on the other hand, exists under the conditions of limited competition, in which the gambling market is shared by a small number of operators. The law, however, sets the opportunity for an additional license to be granted for running a poker salon.

Casino games
Casino games are described as games of chance that are permitted only in casinos pursuant to section 21 of the Austrian Gaming Act. There is no full list of casino games provided by the Act, but the latter expressly states in its section 21 that when it comes to individual games of chance played within a casino, they must be exclusively pointed out in the casino's license decree.
Slot and other machine games
The regulation that currently governs the slot machines in Austria differs from the rest of the gambling regulation in the country. First and foremost, they may be used in the casinos that do not have an applicable limit as to stakes or winnings. Slot machines, however, are allowed to be located outside casinos if permitted by provincial legislator.
Betting (except for sports betting)
Currently, betting for reasons that differ from sports events is not regulated by law.
Sports Betting
Sports betting's regulation is divided between the federal state and the provinces. They are responsible for the legislation and enforcement when it comes to the totalisator and bookmaker wagers.
Games of Skill
Games of skill are currently not subjected to gaming monopoly in Austria. The games that are considered as “games of skill” are tarot, bridge, chess, as well as the game “Schnapsen”.
Lottery Games
A full list of lottery games is provided in sections 6 to 12b of the Austrian Gaming Act. The games included in the list are pools, bonus games, keno, bingo, lotto, lotto with running numbers, number lotto class and number lottery, instant lotteries, electronic lotteries.

Online Gambling

Internet Gambling in Austria Online gambling in the country has a rich history. In fact, some of the European largest and most profitable online-based gambling companies originate from Austria. Access to online gambling websites from other countries is not blocked by the local authorities, which provides Austrian citizens with access to international gambling websites, too.

The country's Government issues licenses for locally-based companies to operate their websites, but it has put a restriction in legislation that accepts only Austrian players to join these websites. This is considered a sign of the Government's policy of making attempts to control online gambling in the country.

A few years ago, the country's Government made a decision to tighten the legalization of the industry as part of its program of gambling addiction prevention. This is exactly why the Austrian Government has made sure that all types of physical and online gambling activities are strictly regulated.

There are a number of restrictions when it comes to online gambling legislation. The online gambling licenses in the country are currently issued by the Government. However, there is a restriction of the players who are allowed to join local websites.

Austrian citizens are provided with the opportunity to also join foreign websites and wager on the games provided by them. Austrian legislation on the matter is considered both complex and unique, but it does not reduce the number of locally-based players. The country's laws, however, provide some aspects for consideration to the Government in terms of national system regulation.

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Austria Online Casino Guide

Gambling Industry Overview in Austria