Allwyn: Online market timeline in Austria is "extremely tight"

Allwyn believes the Finance Ministry should review its timeline for ending the state monopoly in Austria's online gaming sector. Under the draft Federal Act, the law would take effect on 1 January 2027, and the first date on which new license holders could begin operating is foreseen as 1 October of the same year. The draft is currently under review by the European Commission under the TRIS procedure, which triggers a three-month standstill period.

In its letter to the European Commission, the company asked that its views be taken into account. Allwyn explained in detail that the current plans do not leave enough time to set up the supervisory infrastructure needed for a market opening next autumn.

The Austrian Association for Betting and Gambling (OVWG), however, says it trusts the timeline and states that "Austria does not need to reinvent the wheel here." The association views the proposals as a major success and said it would regard it as a victory if the online market were opened to an unlimited number of license holders.

Allwyn, however, is not a neutral party. The company holds a stake in Casinos Austria and Österreichische Lotterien, the owners of the monopoly in the online market. Even so, Allwyn stresses that it supports the general aims of the proposals: strengthening player protection, fighting illegal online gambling, and directing demand towards a licensed, supervised offer.

The first part of Allwyn's objection concerns the new "gambling supervisory authority" that is planned to replace Finanzamt Österreich as the regulator of the online sector, which is not yet clearly defined.