Swiss Confederation
Switzerland licenses online gambling, but only through the back door of its land-based casino industry. Under the Money Gaming Act of 29 September 2017, in force since 1 January 2019, a Swiss casino may extend its concession to online play with the approval of the Federal Council and a per-game permit from the Federal Gaming Board (ESBK). There is no standalone online licence and foreign operators cannot apply. Lotteries and sports betting sit in a separate category of large-scale games supervised by the intercantonal authority Gespa, where the cantons have granted exclusive rights to two public operators, Swisslos and Loterie Romande. Offshore supply is met with mandatory access blocking: internet providers must block unauthorised offers and the authorities publish blacklists.
Online extension of a casino concession
Large-scale games licence (Gespa)
Switzerland is a small, deliberately closed market and there is no visible movement toward opening online licensing to operators without a Swiss casino behind them. The things to watch are the effectiveness of the blocking regime, the progressive tax bands as online volumes grow, and any pressure from the industry to decouple the online extension from land-based concessions.
Two activist short sellers have dropped simultaneous reports accusing Sportradar of generating a significant share of its revenue from illegal operators. The fallout has been immediate, brutal and far from over.
Switzerland has added 271 new domains to its offshore gambling blacklist, taking the total to 2,944 as regulators intensify enforcement under the Federal Act on Money Games and extend blocking to affiliate sites that direct Swiss users to unlicensed operators.
Eidgenoessische Spielbankenkommission
Federal Gaming Board (ESBK)
Eidgenoessische Spielbankenkommission
Interkantonale Geldspielaufsicht (Gespa)
ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)