Casinos Austria AG (CASAG), the exclusive operator of land-based gaming in Austria, has predicted that a new licensed regime will likely precede a new gambling regulator.
In an interview with regional news outlet APA, CASAG spokesperson Patrick Minar directly addressed the ongoing deliberations of updating Austria’s gambling framework to create a more international-friendly market.
He added that the implementation of a new independent gambling regulator to replace the Federal Ministry of Finance will take between six and 12 months, which will overstep the target deadline of introducing a new gambling framework by the end of 2026.
Unlike other European markets where either a full state monopoly or a whole liberalisation exists, Austria is an interesting case as both are currently present.
As previously mentioned, CASAG is in control of land-based gaming. The company itself is 33% owned by a state company, while the majority stakeholder is Czech gambling conglomerate Allwyn.
The online casino scene is fully controlled by Austrian Lotteries (OL) and its subsidiary Win2Day, which in turn are 74% owned by ÖLG Holding GmbH. Meanwhile, ÖLG is fully owned by CASAG.
Therefore, the upcoming reforms will most likely impact the online monopoly in Austria the most. Policymakers have been working on them since last year, and are expected to implement them by the end of 2026 – given that Win2Day’s concession will end in 2027, with CASAG following shortly after.
As to where exactly talks are currently at, Jan Krainer, Member of the Austrian National Council, said that the reforms are ready on the technical level, with details such as IP blocking of illegal websites already agreed on.
However, the complete texts are yet to be published. Experts agree that if the end goal truly is a revamped Austrian market by the end of this year, the bill should ideally be finalised by the end of March so that it can then be sent to Brussels for a final review – giving parliament enough time to put everything in order before it enters its summer recess.
Casinos Austria AG (CASAG), the exclusive operator of land-based gaming in Austria, has predicted that a new licensed regime will likely precede a new gambling regulator. In an interview with regional news outlet APA, CASAG spokesperson Patrick Minar directly addressed the ongoing deliberations of updating Austria’s gambling framework to create a more international-friendly market. He