SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Austrian Lotteries has increased the age limit across its full range of products and offerings to 18, joining several other European nations in doing so.
From 10 July onwards, participation in all Austrian Lotteries games will be limited to those aged 18 and over, rising from the long-standing age threshold of 16.
The decision was undertaken by the state lottery operator voluntarily as part of a wider responsible betting and player protection commitment, and has not been enforced by the government.
Some age limits were already in place for Austrian Lotteries customers, notably the tipp3 sports betting offering has had a limit of 18 for some time.
The new enhanced age limit will cover lottery draw and slip games as well as instant win games, in a similar fashion to other European lotteries such as the UK’s National Lottery.
In contrast to its Austrian counterpart, however, the decision to raise the UK National Lottery age limit was taken by the government back in 2020, with the new rule coming into force in October 2021.
Additionally, in the recently published Gambling Act review, the UK government has proposed a further tightening of the age limits around lotteries.
Specifically, it has been recommended that the age limit for society lotteries be increased from 16 to 18, although some such as The Health Lottery had already voluntarily done so.
