Casino winnings and tax in Austria

Whether casino winnings have to be taxed in Austria is not answered explicitly for players by any of the official sources evaluated. Three other things are documented: which types of income § 2 (3) EStG 1988 lists at all, that the gaming duty (Glücksspielabgabe) under §§ 57 and 59 GSpG arises at the provider, and that the BMF names a separate tax rate for income from cryptocurrencies. How these levies fit together with the monopoly, the licences and the planned payment blocking is explained in the overview of the legal situation in Austria.

The tax question usually comes up only once money flows back: after the first larger withdrawal, when coins are exchanged into euros, or when the bank asks where an amount came from. In Austrian forums the opinion that gambling winnings are “tax-free” is widespread, while other voices clearly disagree. The sections below separate what is in the law and in BMF information, what players claim, and where there is no information. Processing times, limits and verification of the five providers compared are collected in one place under online casino withdrawals.

I

What § 2 (3) EStG lists as income

The Income Tax Act 1988 sets out in § 2 (3) which income is subject to income tax. The wording begins with “Der Einkommensteuer unterliegen nur” (only the following are subject to income tax) and then lists seven types of income exhaustively (last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 135/2022):

• income from agriculture and forestry,
• income from self-employment,
• income from a trade or business,
• income from employment,
• income from capital assets,
• income from renting and leasing,
• other income within the meaning of § 29.

Gambling winnings are not named in this list. That does not yet settle anything about online casino winnings, because the seventh category refers to § 29 EStG and its own provisions. An explicit statement by the BMF on how a player's winnings from an online casino are to be classified for tax purposes is not found in the sources evaluated.

Players read the situation differently. One forum user from Austria writes briefly: “Einkünfte aus Glücksspiel sind in Österreich nicht steuerbar” (income from gambling is not taxable in Austria). Another counters that anyone who “regelmäßig Gewinne auszahlen lässt” (regularly withdraws winnings) may very well have to pay income tax. Both are opinions from discussions, not sources. Whether frequent play can fall under one of the seven types of income is not answered by the norms evaluated; there is no information on this.

II

Gaming duty: the provider's levy (§§ 57, 59 GSpG)

The levy that the Gambling Act explicitly ties to stakes and winnings is the gaming duty. For electronic lotteries it amounts to 45 vH (per cent) of annual gross gaming revenue under § 57 (2) GSpG. What counts as annual gross gaming revenue is defined in § 57 (5) GSpG: the stakes “abzüglich der ausgezahlten Gewinne” (less the winnings paid out). The basis is therefore what remains with the provider after winnings are deducted.

When and for whom the duty arises is governed by § 59 GSpG. For electronic lotteries the tax liability arises “mit Erhalt der Einsätze und Auszahlung der Gewinne” (on receipt of the stakes and payment of the winnings). The debtors are the licence holder or the organiser and the intermediary. Where there is no authorisation, § 59 (2) GSpG makes the contracting party, the organiser and the intermediary jointly and severally liable (“zur ungeteilten Hand”). The player is not named as a debtor of the gaming duty in these lists.

Under § 3 GSpG gambling is reserved to the federal state; the online offer within the monopoly is win2day. One player comments: “nur Win2Day als online casino ist steuerfrei” (only win2day as an online casino is tax-free). There is no source for this distinction. The five providers compared do not name an Austrian concession but licences from other jurisdictions:

• HellSpin: Kahnawake (KGC, no. 01031, verified by Casino.Guru); AskGamblers and LCB also name Curaçao, AskGamblers additionally Estonia.
• Verde Casino: Curaçao Gaming Control Board, licence OGL/2024/686/0183.
• Nomini: Anjouan (Comoros), licence ALSI-202411077-FI2 according to Casino.Guru and AskGamblers; LCB lists “No license” or an outdated Curaçao entry.
• Izzi Casino: Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), licence OGL/2024/570/0396.
• Starda Casino: Curaçao Gaming Control Board, OGL/2024/169/0146.

Whether any of these providers pays gaming duty in Austria: no information.

A common misunderstanding hides in the German search query “casino auszahlung umsatzsteuer” (casino withdrawal VAT). In bonus terms, “Umsatz” means the wagering amount that has to be played through before a withdrawal, and in that context the word has nothing to do with tax. How wagering requirement, maximum bet and maximum cashout fit together at the five providers is explained step by step on the page about cashing out a bonus.

III

What the BMF says about lottery winnings

The only available BMF statement on a prize from the winner's point of view comes from the FAQ on the gambling monopoly and concerns house raffles. There the BMF describes the house won as “einen nicht steuerbaren Lotteriegewinn” (a non-taxable lottery prize) for the winner.

The statement is narrow. It concerns a raffle in which a house is the prize, not slots, table games or live casino. Anyone who derives a general rule for online casinos from it goes beyond the text. A comparable BMF wording on winnings from online casinos is not available.

IV

Crypto gains: the price gain is a separate issue (BMF)

The situation is clearer for cryptocurrencies themselves. According to the BMF, current income and price gains from cryptocurrencies have been subject to the special tax rate of 27.5 per cent since 1 March 2022; they count as income from capital assets. This applies for the first time to cryptocurrencies acquired after 28 February 2021. Coins acquired up to 28 February 2021 are considered old holdings. According to the BMF, exchanging one cryptocurrency for another is not a disposal and is not taxed.

With crypto casinos, two levels get mixed up in discussions: the win in the game and the change in value of the coins afterwards. One player from Austria writes: “Glücksspielgewinne sind steuerfrei, auch aus einem crypto-casino” (gambling winnings are tax-free, also from a crypto casino). Another follows up: “Casino gewinne sind nicht zu versteuern? Nur potenziell eine Wertsteiergung zwischen gewinn und verkauf” (casino winnings are not taxable? only potentially an increase in value between the win and the sale). A third voice was “der festen Überzeugung, dass die 27.5 % KESt hier nicht greift” (firmly convinced that the 27.5 % capital gains tax does not apply here) and is now unsure. Others simply ask: “Sind Gewinne aus einem Kryptocasino (zb. Stake) auch steuerfrei?” (are winnings from a crypto casino such as Stake also tax-free?)

The BMF information on cryptocurrencies contains no separate statement on coins that come from a casino withdrawal. What is documented is the tax rate for income and price gains from cryptocurrencies, not a classification of the gaming win. When one forum user warned that the bank would report it to the tax office, the immediate reply was: “Wie kommst du darauf, dass die Gewinne mit 27.5% zu versteuern sind?” (what makes you think the winnings are taxed at 27.5%?)

Anyone who sends coins from the casino to an exchange should therefore record the time of the withdrawal and the exchange into euros separately. How long the way out of the casino takes, which coins the five providers list and what happens afterwards at the exchange is described in detail on the page about Crypto withdrawals.

V

Being able to prove winnings: bank and tax office

Regardless of the tax question, what counts is being able to prove the money. A legal principle of the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court (VwGH 90/13/0075 of 23.02.1994) concerns a case in tax proceedings under the BAO: there, unproven gambling winnings were not accepted as an explanation of how household and assets had been financed. The wording states that it had been contributed to living costs “durch nicht nachgewiesene Spielgewinne” (through unproven gambling winnings). It is a single case from 1994, and it is not about a tax on winnings but about whether claimed winnings are accepted as the origin of money.

The second party that asks is the bank. Under § 6 (1) no. 4 FM-GwG, credit institutions obtain and verify information on the origin of the funds used. Which documents banks typically want to see for casino receipts, and in which order to arrange them, is described with examples from Austria on the page The bank asks where the money came from.

Worth keeping:

• the withdrawal history from the casino account with date and amount,
• the deposit receipts, so that stakes and money returned can be compared,
• the bank statements showing each incoming payment,
• for crypto, the transaction IDs and the exchange history up to the conversion into euros.

The trail a withdrawal leaves depends on the route: a bank transfer lands directly in the account, while e-wallets and crypto add an intermediate step that you have to document yourself. Processing time, minimum amount and fees per route are compared in the overview of withdrawal methods for players from Austria.

Records only exist once a withdrawal is completed. If a request is stuck as “pending”, is reversed or the account is blocked, exactly the incoming payment you later want to prove is missing. What the providers' terms say about such cases is collected, sorted by status, on the page about withdrawal problems.

VI

What remains open (no information)

Several questions that players from Austria ask cannot be answered with the sources evaluated. For them: no information.

• Income tax on player winnings: no primary source from the BMF, Findok or the VwGH that explicitly classifies players' online casino winnings.
• Withholding tax: no information on whether tax is withheld on a casino withdrawal.
• VAT: no information on casino withdrawals.
• Losses: no information on whether casino losses are tax-deductible.
• Tax return: no information on whether casino winnings have to be stated there.
• Coins from the casino: no separate BMF statement; only the tax rate for cryptocurrencies in general is documented.
• Reporting to the tax office: no information on whether banks report casino receipts.

Forum opinions go in both directions, from “tax-free” to income tax on regular withdrawals. One voice writes in English: “casino wins are not taxable in Austria, but Im still worried about the crypto part”. Such sentences reflect what players believe, not what an authority has determined.