Austria is one of the few remaining European holdouts when it comes to the country’s hold on the casino gaming market.
This may be changing, with the Austrian Association for Betting and Gambling (OVWG) arguing that the Austrian People’s Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the National Socialist Party are now close to commencing talks that will see the market liberalized and expanded to accommodate online casino gaming run by private operators.
In a LinkedIn post, the OVWG asked how many licenses it would make sense to have, drawing parallels with other markets:
"How many providers would apply for licenses for online gambling in Austria? In Germany, there are currently 30 companies, in Denmark ditto, and there will probably not be more in Austria either, if the license conditions are reasonably defined."
Austria exploring licensing model possibility, trade group says
The OVWG believes that talks may be imminent, with the parties willing to push past the monopoly of Casinos Austria AG. A liberal market has been historically linked to stronger player protection measures.
However, how regulation is enacted is equally relevant and important. Overregulating could drive players to the offshore market.
Even in the Netherlands, where the headcount for people registering with regulated entities is going up, the total gambling spend still seems to skew in favor of black-market operations, i.e., companies without a local license.
Germany has also struggled with channelization, and the local regulator, the GGL, and trade groups have been at loggerheads over the authenticity of the data used to characterize the success of the current regulatory framework.
While welcoming dozens of online casino licenses is a welcome step forward for one of the last European gaming monopolies, it’s important to ensure that regulation is made in a manner that makes the sector more competitive.
According to a Yield Sec study from earlier this year, 71% of the gambling market in Europe is dominated by offshore operations.
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