Report No. 276

10. Switzerland

6.53 Switzerland has a federal legal system, whereunder the law is governed on a national as well as a state or canton level. Gambling and Lotteries belong essentially to the Federal Level184. In 1923, the Federal Law of Lotteries and Commercial Betting Law was enacted followed by the Gambling Houses Act of 1929. Together they create a double ban with the exception of Canton regulated lottery and certain Gaming Houses established in specific areas for tourism purposes.

6.54 Subsequently, the Swiss Federal Constitution vide Article 106, distinguished185 between games offered in casino, governed by the Federal Act on Games of Chance and Casinos of 1998 (FGA) and other games (such as bets, lotteries and bingos), governed under the Federal Act on Lotteries and Commercial Betting 1923 (LLB).

The Act legalised gambling activities in a regulated form with limited-stakes casino gambling. There is also a federal and cantonal supervisory body called the Swiss Federal Gaming Board (SFGB), which is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the legal provisions on games of chance and casinos, supervising the casinos and investigating violations of the gambling laws and regulations.

6.55 The Money Gaming Act, 2017 liberalised gambling and permitted online gambling in the country. The 2017 Act has been challenged with 60,000 signatures and voting on the referendum took place on June 10th, 2018186. In the referendum the Act has been supported by about 73 per cent of voters and the Act would come into effect in 2019. The Act allows only Swiss-certified casinos and gaming firms to operate. It is reported that the provisions contained therein could tackle addiction to gambling. The Act has been indicated to tax gambling revenue and direct revenues to fund anti-gambling measures as it was estimated by the Government of Switzerland that gamblers have been spending roughly about $ 250 million per year on unregulated foreign betting sites187.