Poker Writer
Austria is close to regulating iGaming, but a clause is under consideration that would lead to a temporary poker blackout in the country. The final negotiations over the law involve a battle over a “cooling-off” period for gray market operators. Since that includes all the major poker sites, they would need to suspend operations and shut out Austrian players until allowed to seek a license.
Austria is one of Europe’s last remaining gambling monopolies, with only the Austrian national lottery being permitted as the legal online gambling option in the country. Several unlicensed operators exist in the country despite that.
But that monopoly is set to end when the current license expires in 2027. Three governing parties in Austria are now debating the new regulations: the center-right, center-left, and liberal parties.
The cooling-off period isn’t a done deal yet, as lawmakers are debating whether it’s strictly necessary.
Cooling Off Period For Online Poker
Austria is currently a gray market for online poker, meaning that it wouldn’t be legal to offer locally, but the country’s laws don’t impose consequences for offshore operators.
Under the proposed cooling-off policy, unlicensed operators that have served players in the country within the last five years would be banned from seeking a license for a period of 24 to 36 months.
Critics say that black-market operators would not care about a cooling-off period and bypass any ban. It would only affect operators that are licensed in other jurisdictions and would welcome the opportunity to pursue licensed operations locally.
Above-board poker operators fall into that category. PokerStars, for instance, would not risk its licenses elsewhere by serving a black market. The same would be true of GGPoker.
In the case of online casinos, players will have local, legal options from day one. However, in the case of poker, kicking out the gray market operators would mean any Austrian players who aren’t happen to sit out for two or three years would be forced to black market sites instead.
Potential Disruption For Online Poker Hub in Vienna
Currently, PokerStars and GGPoker are both available in Austria despite not having official licenses in the country. The search for a license would lead to a lengthy blackout for poker players in Austria looking to play on the most popular international sites.
If Austria were to be cut off from the global poker pool for a time, it would have consequences for players in other countries, especially Germany. Vienna is a popular hub for elite European online poker players, because it currently has access to dot-com sites. Many Germanys have relocated to the Austrian capital to grind online tournaments and cash games. These include 2021 WSOP Main Event winner Koray Aldemir, and high-roller legend Fedor Holz, who recently distanced himself from poker. A poker blackout could disrupt that ecosystem and require those players to locate elsewhere during the cooling-off period.
