Online gambling in Switzerland
Prior to 1993 casinos and casino gambling in Switzerland were constitutionally prohibited but this was changed with a referendum in that year which saw a majority of Swiss voters endorse the necessary changes to pave the way for legal casinos. Following the required amendments to the Swiss Federal Constitution, legislation allowing for the operation of casinos was enacted in 2000 (Federal Act on Casinos) and a number of casinos were issued licenses and opened their doors to gamblers.
Licenses issued under the legislation’s associated regulations do not allow operators to offer ‘games of chance’ on the Internet and consequently Swiss residents are currently unable to play games like blackjack, roulette or baccarat online with locally licensed/based operators. But this situation has only seen foreign operators fill the void and tap the demand that clearly exists.
The government announced plans to liberalise the Swiss market and offer online gambling licenses back in 2010. In May 2010, the Justice Ministry maintained that it planned to draft a proposal which, subject to Parliamentary approval, would grant a limited number of licenses to approved operators. The plans were said to be primarily motivated by intent to curb the growing ‘black’ online gambling market, as well as raise tax revenues, estimated to be in the order of SFr 26 million annually.
[Update August 2014]
In May 2014, the Swiss Federal Government published the first draft of a new bill allowing for regulated online gambling. If passed, the bill would enable land-based casinos in Switzerland to use their licences to also operate an internet gambling service. The draft was open for consultation until 20 August 2014, and in August received the support of the Cantonal Directors in Charge of Gambling and Lotteries (CDCM). The CDCM also voiced its general support for the regulation of the country’s online gambling market.
[Update October 2015]
On 21 October a Bill was introduced into Swiss parliament which, if passed, would allow Switzerland’s 21 land based casinos to offer games online.
[Update July 2019]
The Money Gaming Act was passed by Swiss parliament late 2017 . Following a referendum on its acceptance that was also passed by voters, June 2018, it came into effect 2019. The Act allows only Swiss based casinos and lotteries to obtain online gambling concessions. It also requires local ISPs to block all foreign online gambling sites.
Best live casino for Swiss players
As of July 2019, the list of casinos with live dealers welcoming players from Switzerland has diminished. We are on the lookout for Swiss based online casinos carrying quality live dealer games.
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