A Salzburg district court ordered enforcement against funds held in a Maltese bank account for casino losses incurred by an Austrian customer, Jufina said. The claim is for €27,000, and the bank has four weeks to comply; Jufina said the bank refused, leaving the customer able to sue it directly.
The ruling could enable claims against banks holding funds linked to online casinos serving Austrian customers.
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Austria's coalition parties were negotiating a gambling-law overhaul, with a bill expected before the parliamentary summer recess, according to the report. Proposals include replacing the online single-operator model after its licence expires in 2027 with open licensing, while a disputed cooling-off measure could exclude some operators for up to five years.
Austria’s coalition negotiators remain divided over whether operators that served customers without local authorisation should gain immediate access to the planned regulated market. A proposed measure could bar companies found to have breached gambling rules in the previous five years from licensing for an additional period; the current sole online licence expires in 2027.
Austria’s governing-party negotiators were due to discuss whether the planned gambling law should bar some unlicensed operators from obtaining licences, according to press reports and sources cited in the coverage. The proposed restriction could apply to companies found to have breached Austrian gambling law in the previous five years; its duration and inclusion in the bill remained unsettled.
A leaked draft from Austria’s Finance Ministry proposes replacing the online casino monopoly with a multi-operator licensing system. The draft suggests weekly deposit limits of €250 for players under 26 and €1,680 for older users, alongside a €2 cap per spin or round. The existing monopoly licence runs until 2027; the report says a multi-licensed market may not be operational until around 2030.
Austria's Finance Ministry has finalised a draft law that would allow several providers to offer online gambling under a licensing system. Lotteries would remain a monopoly, while online casino licences would initially run five years with a possible 10-year extension. The draft, which is subject to coalition negotiations, would require licensees to hold EUR10m in share capital and settle past tax and court claims.