What regulations are there in the federal states?
Vienna: Betting times are limited from 6 a.m. to midnight. No bets on fatalities, injuries or dog races are allowed.
Lower Austria: There are no restrictions.
Burgenland: There are no restrictions.
Upper Austria: There is a betting limit of € 500 and limited hours from 6 a.m. to midnight. They follow live betting rules and do not allow betting on death or injury.
Salzburg: Only bets up to € 500 or less are allowed. No wagering on death, injury, virtual events, horse racing, other animal events or amateur human sports. Football bets can be placed on the first to third professional leagues.
Styria: There are time restrictions, but on the type of bets that can be placed. Bets on death or injury and virtual events are not allowed. In addition, live bets can only be placed on halftime and final results and who will score the next goal in football and ice hockey.
Carinthia: The same rules for live betting apply here as in Styria. No bets on criminal activity are allowed and bets can only be made from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Vorarlberg and Tyrol: In both federal states, sports bets are allowed from 6 a.m. to midnight. Sometimes the hours can be extended for special international events, such as a World Cup or the Olympic Games. Live bets are also prohibited.
Regulations for online casinos in Europe
Gambling also has a long, elegant tradition in neighboring countries. The legal situation for online casinos across national borders is similar to that in Austria.
Switzerland has legalized virtual gaming since last year, provided that it is a question of providers with a license from Switzerland. These permits were issued to established operators of state-licensed land-based casinos. Provider websites from abroad are subject to a network blockade.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, there has been a transitional regulation since mid-October 2020, which will apply until the new state treaty on gaming on July 1, 2021.
According to this, the online casinos previously classified as illegal outside of Schleswig-Holstein will be allowed as long as they adhere to the German requirements. They are primarily aimed at protecting minors and avoiding the risk of addiction.
When it comes to the issue of the final licenses for online casinos in the coming year, applicants only have a chance if they were either not previously active in Germany or have not become conspicuous due to rule violations.
Players whose behavior is flagged as questionable are recorded in a nationwide blocking file, in which gamers can also voluntarily register. There is also a maximum monthly sum of 1000 euros for online gambling of all kinds, from the number lottery to slot machines.
As soon as the new state treaty applies, only online casinos that have received their license from the government should be legal in Germany.
Because the taxes and gambling duties at the virtual casinos flow to the licensing countries, the state coffers benefit from allowing online gaming via a monopoly, as was once the case in Maria Theresa’s time.
The European Court of Justice also recently ruled that Austria’s state gaming controls are essentially legal under EU law. In addition, there is the certainty that, thanks to online checks, the various casinos can be checked and the tension is actually focused solely on the games.