Austria Gambling Sites and Law

Gambling in Austria is incredibly popular. It got so popular a few years ago that the government and Austrian regulatory authorities tightened regulations in an attempt to return to the levels that were present in the early 2000s. In other words, the status of Austria gambling sites and law is changed.

They have scaled back casino operations and put a lot of rules in place that make it nearly impossible for foreign operators to open an Austria online gambling company and service Austrian residents. Poker is one of the most popular forms of gambling here and it is offered at land-based casinos as well as through online operators. Austrian lotto betting is also quite common.

Austrian online poker players can play at sites such as Betsson, BetSafe, and Stake Sports. Casino games are also popular both online and at brick-and-mortar sites, as are sports betting and horse racing. While there are some pretty strict regulations that make it difficult for foreign operators to saturate the market, there are plenty of very reputable gambling sites for Austrians to choose from. In this article about law and gambling sites in Austria, we will explain everything you need to know about these topics.

Top 10 Gambling Sites for Austria in 25 April 2024 – Updated List

The first historical records about gambling in Austria date back to the 17th century. We know that during this period, all social classes in the country showed great interest in ball and dice games. However, King Leopold I banned all gambling games in 1696 on the grounds that they were harmful. This situation continued until the beginning of the 20th century. Lottery became legal in 1913, and land-based casinos were legalized in the 1950s. 

For more information about the legal status and history of gambling in other European countries, you can check our other guides such as Slovenia gambling sites and laws, Switzerland gambling sites and law, Germany gambling sites and law. We have a long list of gambling sites by country, and it contains everything you need to know.

Whether you play in high roller casinos or low deposit casinos, we recommend that you pay attention to the following points when choosing a gambling site:

• The license is the most important thing. Make sure the site has a license and verify that license.
• Variety of games and bets. Ideally, you should be able to access both sports betting and online casino services from a single address.
• Bonuses. Make sure you can take advantage of the bonuses both when you sign up and after signing up.
• Compatibility. Visit the site with different devices (desktop/mobile) and see if it works fine on all of them. Regardless of the device, you should be able to access the same features and performance.
• Payment methods. As we will point out below, some payment methods are more practical for Austrian players: Make sure these methods are supported.

Let’s start with sports betting Austria and Austrian casino site taxation: Gamblers are not required to pay taxes on their winnings and they aren’t allowed to write off their losses either. In other words, Austria gambling tax is quite liberal. It is the casinos and online gambling operators who must shoulder the tax burden.  The tax man takes a percentage of the gambling company’s earnings and they also collect revenue through licensing fees.

The official currency of Austria is the Euro and that is the commonly accepted currency among Austrian operators. Debit and major credit cards are the most popular methods that Austrians use to perform financial transactions with online wagering sites.

Bank wire transfers are also frequently used (check our list of Trustly betting sites for more info). Prepaid credit cards and online services such as Entropay, Neteller, Skrill, Paysafe, and Ukash are also a fast and easy way to perform both deposits and withdrawals from Austrian internet gambling sites.

Make sure to check which payment methods are accepted at any betting site before you join, including Austria betting sites and bookmakers. Different methods often have different limits and varying fees. More importantly, they have different gambling bonuses. For example, there may be a specific promotion for e-wallets, and you can get your first deposit matched with this casino bonus.

Security is at least as important as Austria gambling sites and law: Be sure to play only on safe and reliable sites. All the casinos and bookmakers we recommend have this feature. You can tell if a site is trustworthy by paying attention to two things:

• Check license. Trusted sites are licensed by reputable agencies such as The United Kingdom Gambling Commission.
• SSL encryption. You should see a lock image in the left corner of your browser’s address bar: This means the connection is encrypted and protected with SSL.

This is all you need to know about Austria gambling sites and law: Now, you can start practicing. Check our list of sites and gambling law in Austria again, pick a website, and register today. We are sure that you will start winning in no time. As always, we wish you good luck out there!