Austria state submits sports betting regulations

Lower Austria finished its sports betting regulations and submitted them to the European Commission.

Austria.- Austria is looking to update its gambling industry with new regulations, as the current ones have been operating for more than four decades. Lower Austria, the largest state in the country, has submitted to the European Commission its sports betting laws to regulate online and retail betting.

The current legislation, called Law on the Activities of Totalizators and Bookmakers, received the green light in 1978 and has been regulating the industry ever since. The Lower Austria Sports Betting Act wants to update the current laws, updated six times in the last 19 years. However, the government believes that a comprehensive update is necessary as every year there are more and more technological developments around the gambling industry.

Lower Austria’s legislation is also compliant with the European Union’s Fourth Money Laundering Directive. The Act establishes that sports betting operators can apply for online or retail licences. New entrants can only get licences for two years, while those renewing them can apply for 10-year licences. Online sports betting licences are limited to two-year terms.

Operators will also have to apply for a master licence. Those establish which type of activity the operators can carry out and the period of time. The master licences also set where they can offer betting terminals.

Under the new legislation, operators have to set safeguard regulations for customers. Furthermore, the legislation doesn’t allow bets worth more than €35. Players must be 18 or older and prove that with a photo ID.