In Austria, all types of gambling activities are legalized at casinos. However, the gambling industry in the country is still tightly regulated by the Government.
In June 2010, the latest National Gambling Bill was passed, aiming to set stricter licensing standards for all gambling forms in the country. However, it is also beneficial as the Austrian state has allowed slot machines to be located nationwide.
Let's take a closer look at the laws and gambling activities in Austria.
Gambling, casino, and lottery activities are regulated by the Game of Chance Law (GSpG) under the jurisdiction of the Austrian Ministry of Finance. It is the authority that oversees legitimate betting companies.
Currently, gambling and entertainment activities in Austria are strictly controlled by the provisions of the Games Act. The rules are in place to ensure standards are kept confidential at all times and not violated by any game operator. Austria's gambling laws also focus on minimizing the risk to players, as well as reducing gambling activities and games used for criminal purposes. The betting taxes are also adjusted to ensure certain revenue is generated from the industry.
In Austria, it is illegal to offer cross-border gambling organizations.
The Traditional Sports Betting Service is governed by the Federation of Austria.
As of June 2020, the lottery market in Austria remains monopolized by Casinos Austria. On the other hand, the casino market in Austria has limited competitive conditions, as there are only a handful of operators operating in this country.
Below are the rules specific to each type of game and betting in Austria:
Entertainment is only permitted at casinos in accordance with Austria Game Rules. There is no listing of casino games provided by the Act, but the Act states in section 21 that individual games of chance at casinos must be specified exclusively in the casino's licensing decree.
These types of betting can be used in Austrian casinos, and there are no limits on stakes or winnings. Slot machines are allowed outside of casinos if licensed by the provincial legislator.
There are currently no governing rules for betting in Austria.
Provisions between federal states and provinces are divided differently.
Games like tarot, chess, or Schnapsen are not exclusive to Austria.
In the Austrian Gaming Act, there is a complete list of lottery games offered, including prize-winning games, keno, bingo, lottery, compute lottery, etc.
In Austria, the history of online gambling in the country is quite rich. The truth is that some of Europe's largest and most profitable online gambling companies are all from Austria. Austrian citizens have access to international online gambling sites and are not blocked by local authorities.
The Austrian government licenses local companies to operate online betting platforms, but there are restrictions. Overall, the Austrian government is still working hard to control the online gambling activities in the country and has taken the decision to tighten the legalization of the gambling industry in the gambling addiction prevention program.
Austrian citizens can place bets at foreign websites, and the number of players betting every day has increased significantly locally.
The casinos understand that each bettor will have different preferences, which is why Austrian casinos offer a wide variety of payment options. Before making a deposit, players need to be aware that withdrawal requests will be made using the same payment method the player chose to deposit money in the first place. In general, Austrian bettors don't have to worry about withdrawing and deposit money at online casinos.
SOFORT Banking, for example, is an excellent payment solution accepted at most of Austria's online casinos. Additionally, GiroPay and Trustly also offer instant and efficient transfers.
If the above methods at Austrian casinos are not right for you, here are other forms of payment that may be suitable:
