Best Betting Sites in Austria

Where to bet safely in Austria and which online bookmakers to join?

The betting sites listed below are the top ones for Austrian players. Look at each one and decide if their welcome offer is enticing enough for you to sign up. Keep on reading for more details about each brand.

Best Bookies in Austria Ranked

1. Bwin – Top bookie for Austria
2. 22bet – Best odds bookie
3. Pinnacle – Great markets in place
4. Cbet – Perfect for crypto bets and eSports
5. Megapari – Great bonuses for sports bettors

Austria’s TOP bookmakers in detail

If you are keen on online betting while in Austria, then chances are you will highly likely end up playing at an offshore site. The reason is the county currently has only one licensed online bookie, the Austrian Lotteries. This is a government enterprise, and based on reviews from many serious gamers; it does not quite deliver. It is still worth checking out and confirming if it meets your gaming needs. If this does not quite rock your boat, you can also try out a few of the top betting sites for sports in Austria that we have listed below. What makes these the best betting sites in Austria is that they have extensive betting and gaming catalogues, delivering a one-stop betting and gaming shop right to your screen. 

Bwin

The company Bwin is no new brand for many avid gamers. The company has been in the online gaming and betting business since 1997 and holds multiple licenses from different territories.

This has allowed them to have very extensive penetration into the global market. Luckily, Bwin is accessible from Austria as well. Some of the betting products you can utilize from their site include sports betting, virtual sports, online casino, live casino, and poker.

22Bet

Our #2 pick for Austria is the popular betting brand 22Bet. This betting site comes second to none when it comes to its promotions and specials. Be sure to check it out if you are in search of reasonable bonuses with good terms. 22bet also offers amazing mobile solutions for punting. It comes as no surprise that it made our list of the best betting sites in Austria.

Pinnacle

This famous bookmaker is another relatively new company that has had a meteoric rise in the global betting industry. The site of Pinnacle now has a presence in nearly all continents globally, thought their largest clientele is in the European market.

In addition to the usual sports betting, Pinnacle has also thrown in some more betting products such as casino. These always come in handy when there is a lull of activities in the sporting arena. The new options, combined with the superb Pinnacle mobile betting apps, give a serious boost to the company’s rating among the players.

Cbet

Unlike Bwin, our first choice, Cbet has been in the industry for a relatively shorter period. Nonetheless, they deliver an equally good online betting platform. The Cbet site gives you access to an online casino and a sportsbook.

What makes this bookie particularly stand out is the amount of free cash available in their promos and bonuses section, which surely draws the attention of both experienced players and newbies. You can check the newest Cbet promotions whеre you will be able to find our special bonus code.

Megapari

Megapari is an award-winning online casino and bookmaker with a strong international presence. Austrian bettors will find 50+ sports to wager on, including, but not limited to, football, basketball, tennis, ice hockey, horse racing, etc. The platform gives you the option to filter only the events that have a live-streaming option. Results and statistics are available as well.

What to consider when selecting a Betting Site in Austria?

As we have already established, there are many online bookies operating in the Austrian market. Since these offshore companies are not licensed by the Austrian government, they are often termed as ‘illegal.’ But the truth is most of these are legit companies that have valid licenses from other territories. It does not mean there are no illegal bookies still in the market. So how does one tell the good from the bad?

In selecting top bookmakers Austria players can use, there are few tips one ought to consider. These include:

• Where is the bookie licensed and regulated?
• Does the site offer safe, secure, and convenient payment methods?
• What are the betting options available?
• Does the site offer any bonuses and promos for regular players?
• What are other Austrian players saying about this bookie? What about its global reputation?

Betting in Austria – Trivia

• Currency: Euro
• Population: 8,773,000
• Active Players:  2,500,000
• Designated Authority: Bundesministerium fur Finanzen (BMF)
• Regulated Gambling Products: Sports betting, land-based casinos, poker halls, lottery, online casinos, online bookies, horse racing
• Types of Operators: Land-based casinos, betting shops, offshore operators

Did you know that?

• The legal gambling age is set at 18 years
• Win2Day.at, a government-owned entity was the first online betting site to be licensed in Austria
• All 12 land casinos in Austria are owned by Casino Austria, another government entity
• Austria is considered one of the highly regulated gambling markets in Europe

Gambling in Austria

Austria, like many other European countries, has a lot of interest in gambling. This has been the country’s favourite pastime for quite several years. Key attractions in the gambling sector in this country include sports betting, poker and other major casino games. For any ardent casino enthusiast in the European region and you happen to have, a lot, you must have come across the brand Casinos Austria. This is one of the biggest casino gaming corporation in the world, with a footprint in 16 countries. This serves to show just how much of a big business gambling is in Austria.

However, in the midst of this brisk gambling market are recent changes that have rocked how the Austrian citizens get to consume gambling. As we will be highlighting in the next section below, the government has been making regulatory moves that by all signs seem to be creating a near-monopolistic market. This has adversely affected not only Austrian punters, but the online gaming operators who have been eyeing this lucrative market for a while now.  

Is gambling in Austria legal?

In a nutshell, it is very much legal to place bets and gamble in Austria. In all the moves made by the government to regulate the sector, they have never intended to criminalize any forms of betting, be it in casinos or online betting sites. However, there have been some critical changes in the legal framework governing the gambling market that has adversely affected casino operators.

While the individual player has remained unaffected, the operators face the challenge of operating legally in the country. When the 2010 Gambling Act was passed, it put in place some intense bureaucratic conditions that must be met before an operator is granted a license. In the opinion of many industry stakeholders, these measures were put in place to create room for a virtual monopoly that is currently held by Casino Austria. As such, most online betting operators opted to take advantage of this grey area and continue to operate without the actual licenses from the Austrian government.

Do Austrian Players get restricted by some bookmakers? Why?

Austrian players seldom get blocked from accessing offshore bookmakers. When the new gambling act was enacted, some of the fundamental changes included the abolishment of forms of advertising of online betting products to Austrian players. This was with the exception of only one government-owned entity. For this reason, you will not come across any forms of advertising from other betting companies in Austria. But this does not mean that Austrian players cannot registers and start playing at such site.

To the contrary, plenty of offshore betting companies still operate freely in Austria, creating a highly competitive online betting market. In addition, the country’s currency is the Euro, which makes it easier for Austrians to play and bet in these offshore accounts, which as often licensed in other European countries and territories.

How much tax do you pay on gambling winnings in Austria?

Despite the heavy government regulation on the gambling market, the tax regime has remained largely unchanged. Austrian are not charged any taxes on the money they make while gambling. In Austrian law, gambling is regarded as a game of chance, thus not formal income-generating activity. So even if you get lucky to win the millions of Euros in a jackpot, you will not be haunted by the idea of having to hive off some of the cash in taxes.

About the gambling market

As we mentioned in the introduction, Austria has a vibrant gambling market. Despite the government’s efforts to create some monopoly, plenty of operators still have access to this market. Let’s start by analyzing the land-based gaming market. In this sector, the laws make two major distinctions in the type of betting products offered; those with small stakes of not more than 50 cents and those with large stakes of more than 50 cents.

The small stakes market generally operates as a free market with minimal government interference. The type of products offered here are the small betting clubs and poker rooms which bear no resemblance to an actual casino. The second category is where the government takes a heavy-handed approach. Here, the 2010 Gambling Act placed a cap of only 15 land-based casinos. Currently, 12 of these licenses are held by Casinos Austria, which is the biggest operator in the casino industry.

The sports betting sector, on the other hand, has had some relative freedom. This has been left as a mandate of individual Austrian states. As a result, you will be surprised to find a large number of sports betting shops spread across the country. For some, such as those operates by Admiral, they are even advance with all the exquisiteness of a modern coffee shop.

The online betting market has also been heavily regulated. Currently, only Austrian Lotteries holds the license to offer online casino, poker, and sports betting in the country. This is a subsidiary of Casinos Austria, which is a government entity. To many players, this site alone does meet their online betting needs, which have created a demand for other offshore companies. According to some studies done on the market, up to 50% of the online gambling turnover was generated from such ‘illegal’ sites. This serves to show how much demand the monopolistic approach has created in the market.

Interestingly, most of the sites deemed ‘illegal’ in the market are big global betting brands that have been licensed elsewhere in the European region. The only challenge is that the Austrian government makes it hard for such external players to get licensed and attain legal status. This has been backed by a ruling at the Court of Justice for the European Union which termed the gambling laws in Austria to be unfriendly to the EU trade rules. Rather than being designed to protect the players, the rules have been used as a tool to protect local operators against external competition.

The most popular betting features and options in Austria

Despite the market being heavily guarded by the government regulations, the Austrian players have been able to keep up with the market trends in as far as online betting is concerned. As such, players here demand the latest innovations and features that technology has brought to the betting and gambling market. Some of the most sought after features in this market include;

• Live Streaming
  Austrian players are inclined towards a site that provides them with free streaming content. This is especially so if the site delivers the free streaming content to mobile devices via native apps.
• In-Play Betting
  The idea of placing in-play bets on live matches has been on the rise. Players particularly like this feature since it allows them to join in the fun on an event midway, unlike prematch bets which lock you out after kick-off.
• Cash Out
  The early cash-out feature is liked by many players since it means one can cut back their losses if you sense your bet is going south.

Available bonuses for Austrian Players

Bonuses boost your playing time by giving you more cash to play with. In some cases, the bonus money is even awarded without you having to spend a dime. In a market that is as competitive for bookies as Austria, you are bound to come across some desirable bonuses. One thing you will notice, however, is that most bookies will not market these bonuses as being exclusively meant for Austrian players, but rather as bonuses for the general clientele.

As a player, you should always go for the betting sites with bonuses. For instance, the top betting sites for sports in Austria that we mentioned above have some very attractive bonuses, which often cross over to the casino section as well. Bwin welcomes new signups to their online casino with a 100% match of their first deposit up to €200. At the sportsbook section is a similar welcome offer, giving a maximum of €50. At 22Bet, the welcome bonus gives as much as €122 worth of free play money at the sportsbook.

In addition to these welcome packages, the bookies also have a long list of other promotions for their regular players. In some instances, you will be getting redeemable coupon points for being a loyal player.

The favourite sports of the Austrian bettors

Most Austrians are involved in sports. Even for those who are not active participants, they form a large fan base. The country’s interest in sports ranges across various sporting disciplines. The most popular sport but some margin is football. The Austrian Bundesliga attracts fans across the country and continent, with teams such as Red Bull Salzburg often featuring in continental competitions. Curiously though, the German Bundesliga seems to have such a large following in the country, with some fans giving it priority over the domestic league. Due to such a large fan base, association football gets the most bets in the county.

Winter sports such as alpine skiing and ice hockey also feature dominantly in the number of bets placed. This quite understandable due to the country’s climate, which has encouraged the growth of such winter sports. In the same line, it is worth noting that bookies report a spike in betting numbers during the winter Olympics in contrast to the summer Olympics, painting a clear picture of the fan base in Austria.

Other sports getting considerable attention include motorsports, thanks to attention drawn by the Austrian Grand Prix. The Austrian Football League, which features the American football style of play, also receives substantial attention in the bookies.

Are Online Casinos popular on the market?

Despite there being fewer land-based casinos in the country, Austrians have over the year shown a high affinity for casino gaming. Vienna boasts of having one of the largest poker halls in Europe. The 12 land-based casinos currently in operation continue to have good numbers. The growth of online casinos, on the hand, has revolutionized the casino gaming industry. Over the years, more players are opting to play online rather than walk into the physical gaming halls.

Poker dominates as the most popular casino game among the Austrians. It is not uncommon to hear Austria being referred to as the poker capital of Europe. The high demand in poker has driven the government-owned Win2Day.at to source the services of top-notch software providers such as Playtech to keep up with the external competition. Other popular games include blackjack and roulette. The demand for slots is not that much intense as with other European countries, but Bingo remains the least popular online casino game among Austrians. 

Currency and Preferred Payment Methods in Austria

The state uses the Euro as its currency since its adoption in 2002. This makes it relatively easier for gamers in Austria to play at offshore sites since the Euro is a common currency. Some of the standard payment methods applicable for Austrian punters include Skrill, Neteller, Ukash, Paysafecard, and PayPal. Sofort also features prominently as a favourite payment method among many players.

Recently, there has been an uptake of cryptocurrencies as the currency of choice for online betting and gambling. Austrians have been receptive to cryptocurrencies, with several Bitcoin ATMs popping up across major cities. If you can find a site that accepts payments in Bitcoins, which are in plenty now, then it is much more convenient than the traditional modes of payment.

Bookies with mobile apps for Austrian customers

In a country with over 170% mobile penetration, mobile betting contributes the biggest chunk of all online bets. Most players will prefer betting via their phones than using their PCs since it much faster and convenient. As such, nearly all top bookies operating in the country support mobile betting. In most cases, these bookies will have developed downloadable apps. Where such apps don’t exist, the bookies design their websites to be compatible with mobile browsers. In our opinion, the downloadable mobile apps tend to give a better user experience compared to browsing from the mobile site version.

Some of the noteworthy mobile apps you can use to play within Austria include Betfair, Bet365, Expekt, and Goldbet, to mention a few. You ought to consider the unique features each app delivers before you can settle for one.

Final comment

Like much of Europe, Austria proves to be a very lucrative market for online gambling. Even in the face of the high control and regulations by the government, the industry continues to thrive. The intervention of the EU has brought some hope into the market that the government could ease up on the largely monopolistic market. Whether we will begin seeing foreign companies getting licensed to operate in the country remains to be seen. In the meantime, players will have to make do with the remote operators available in the market.

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