Casinos Austria names Andreas Bierwirth CEO as Erwin van Lambaart steps down in March 2027

Casinos Austria has named board member Andreas Bierwirth to succeed CEO Erwin van Lambaart, who will step down when his contract expires in March 2027. Bierwirth has been a member of the three-member board since October 2025 and holds the position of Chief Transformation Officer.

Robert Zadrazil, who chairs the supervisory board, stated that van Lambaart made his plans known to the company in September. Once that news was shared, Allwyn and ÖBAG, the operator's two principal owners, began looking for a successor. The operator said the choice came out of a global recruitment effort run by a personnel consultancy.

Bierwirth's earlier career included executive posts at Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Magenta Telekom. At present he heads the supervisory board of Do&Co and serves on Finnair's board. Van Lambaart has been at the helm of Casinos Austria since 2022, having earlier served as CEO of Holland Casino. Since his 2023 appointment, he has continued to chair the European Casino Association.

Once the transition takes effect, the executive board will be made up of just two people, Bierwirth and Martin Škopek.

Allwyn chief executive Robert Chvatal, whose company is a Casinos Austria shareholder, said he was pleased by the choice. "I look forward to working with Bierwirth, an experienced manager whom I know will drive the next crucial steps for the group," he said.

Bierwirth said one of his main goals in the job will be the forthcoming round of casino tender licences. "The lottery and casino concessions are due to be re-awarded, which are the basis for our business in the future," he said. "We want to and will show that there is no better partner for this special business than our group of companies."

At present Casinos Austria is the holder of all 12 land-based casino licences, and the sole licence for lotteries and online gaming belongs to Win2day, a brand of Austrian Lotteries. A draft bill issued in June would end Casinos Austria's monopoly and open the online market to competition, alongside proposals to raise the number of casino licences to 13 from the 12 in operation now.

On the change in the market, Bierwirth said: "We will accept the competition and give everything to convince the players with our quality. The transition from a monopoly market to a liberalised market is always a very special management task for the former monopolist."