Discover the Most Sought-After Austrian Online Casinos
In Austria, all types of gambling activities are legalized at casinos. Such online relevant products as gaming, betting, lotteries, and social arrangement are regulated by different agencies. For example, online casino games are regulated by the Austrian Ministry of Finance (BMF), also the Austrian Tax Office while sports betting and horse racing betting are under the regulation of competent government authority in Bundeslander.
Laws of Gambling in Austria
Gambling, casino, and lottery activities are regulated by the Federal Gambling Act (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:
Casino Games and Poker
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.
Slot and Machine Games
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.
Betting (Excluding Sports Betting)
There are currently no governing rules for betting in Austria.
Sports Betting
Provisions between federal states and provinces are divided differently.
Skill Games
Skill Games with no prize in money or money's worth or skill games with no element of chances are not expressly regulated by Austrian law.
Lottery
In the Austrian Gaming Act, there is a complete list of lottery games offered, including prize-winning games, keno, bingo, lottery, compute lottery, etc.
Regarding material promotion and advertising restrictions, there are certain key limits that you may be interested in, especially when you are an affiliate.
Betting
The advertising restriction of betting varies based on local laws. For example, certain Austrian federal states (Buldeslander) allow sports betting while some do not.
Gambling Events in Austria
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.
Payment Methods
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:
- Banks include Bank Austria, BAWAG P.S.K., Bank Erste, ING-DiBa, Easybank, etc;
- EWallets: Skrill, Neteller, ecoPayz;
- Passport;
- Visa or Mastercard;
- Cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, LTC).
