Austria: New Laws for Gambling & Politics
The Austrian gaming industry could soon have to adapt to new gaming legislation.
The main points of the planned gambling law are changes to the licensing and taxation of gambling providers. The creation of a central register for banned gamblers, the limitation of gambling advertising and the fight against illegal online gambling operators. Legal online gambling sites like 스타홀덤 should not worry.
With the amendment of the gambling laws, gambling and politics, in particular, are to be separated more strongly from each other.
Policy-independent licensing for gambling
The gaming supervisory authority should initially consist of ten employees and be led by two board members in accordance with the coalition. The board members should also be appointed by the Federal President.
In order to prevent any conflicts of interest, influence or attempts at bribery, “strict compliance and incompatibility rules” should apply. This includes that the future responsible persons of the supervisory authority are not allowed to pursue any other activities for one year before and after their appointment which could be incompatible with the work of the authority.
Higher taxes for Casinos Austria and sports betting?
The planned new gambling law also provides for changes in the area of gambling taxes. For example, the state-owned Casinos Austria is threatened with an increase in gaming taxes. This also corrects an error from the past.
The legislators are considering legally defining sports betting as a game of chance for the first time. Austria wants to orient itself towards other EU states in which sports betting is on an equal footing with casino gambling.
Measures against gambling addiction and illegal providers
Improving player protection is also one of the legislators’ most pressing concerns. Above all, the risk from illegal online gambling operators should be reduced.
One measure to drive illegal providers off the market is to set up network blocks based on the Swiss model. IT providers are encouraged to present solutions to make it difficult for Austrians to access illegal casinos on the Internet.
In addition, a central register for blocked gamblers should be set up. Such a player protection measure is also provided for in the new State Treaty on Gaming for Germany. The central register is intended to prevent players who are blocked by one operator from simply continuing to play with another provider.
