Austria is to have 15 casinos - three up on the current 12 - under the new gaming law which was passed, after a long struggle, in the Austrian parliament on June 16.
It may spell the end of the monopoly enjoyed by Casinos Austria. The three new licences will be opened for tenders from anywhere within the European Community.
The extra casino licences are part of a much larger package of revisions to the Austrian law on gambling, which also takes in the street market in the country’s separate provinces. Player protection figures strongly in the provisions agreed for the new regulations.
After many years of campaigning to be permitted to operate casinos within its home country, industry giant Novomatic may now join in the tendering process. Director Franz Wohlfahrt said that the new law was "a significant improvement of legal conditions" and "a great challenge" for operators.
