Like several other European governments, including the Dutch one, the Swiss government is ready to introduce a new casino law. It has been debating about gambling for a while. Not every political party thinks that the gambling market should be open to international companies. What’s more, some politicians don’t think that online gambling should be legal at all. Political parties ánd casinos themselves are already discussing the new law. What’s is the fuss all about?

Political discussions Switzerland about new gambling law

It has become clear that politics and online gambling don’t go along very well. The Netherlands and Switzerland are a good example of that. A new Dutch gambling law will come into effect in January 2019, whereas Switzerland will have a new law on June 1st, 2018. It did take a while before this law was accepted though. After a lot of discussion the Swiss parliament accepted a law that makes online gambling legal. You would think that online casinos are happy with the new law. The opposite is true actually. The problem, according to opponents, is that it’s too protectionist. According to the new law, only already existing casinos are required to have online activities. So innovative companies from abroad and foreign competitors have no chance at all. It doesn’t even matter if better quality than the Swiss gambling companies.

No more international gambling companies allowed

In a way the gambling market of Switzerland resembles the Netherlands. The government is also very strict and online gambling isn’t legal. In the Netherlands people can only gamble in a land-based Holland Casino. There’s also an interesting difference between the Netherlands and Switzerland. The latter has casino that are operated by several gambling multinationals. Famous names are Groupe Tranchant and Lucien Barrière and Casinos Austria, for example. The 21 Swiss casinos that are already exist can continue their operations after the new law has come into effect. The difference with the situation before is that they’ll be allowed to start a legal online casinos. Popular online casinos like LeoVegas will miss out though, because they’re not from Switzerland. They have to pack their bags and find customers elsewhere. What’s more, because of the law these ‘illegal online casinos’ will not be accessible for Swiss residents anymore. The websites of LeoVegas, Mr Green and many more will be blocked.

‘Damage to Swiss economy’

Opponents fear that the new gambling law will make protectionism in Switzerland stronger. In their opinion this will eventually damage the Swiss economy. ‘Where does this end?’ they ask themselves. It’s a fact that Switzerland doesn’t have a lot of legal casinos at the moment, 21 in total. The government is very strict when it comes to providing a permit. The casinos that are allowed do have a great revenue though. In 2016 the total revenue was about 577 million euros, which is a little bit more than the 599 million euros of Holland Casino. Censorship or not? Interestingly enough, mainly young people are against the ‘blacklisting’ of famous European countries. The youth members of political parties even say that it’s a form of censorship. They also fear that the law will mean digital isolation for their country. The current attorney general does not share these concerns. According to Simonetta Sommaruga the country will continue to have an open market. Switzerland will only be more pragmatic when it comes to online gambling. Online gambling providers have to meet the same requirements as anyone else, Sommaruga says. If they don’t apply to the rules, a gambling license will not be given. Protection against gambling addiction and money laundering The arguments of Sommarunga are true, but this is not the problem according to many. They fear the consequences of a ban on permits for international gambling companies. The attorney general defends the law by stating that it protects gamblers and that it prevents money laundering. By preserving the casino monopoly in Switzerland, no Swiss money will be smuggled to foreign countries. By using taxes and mandatory remittances it will become part of the Swiss government budget. Casinos definitely contribute to Swiss society when it comes to money. In 2016 the Swiss government received 323 million Swiss francs, which is about 270 million euros, from the 21 casinos. When these casinos have an online version, the annual revenue will be even more. We’ll just have to wait a little while before we know what the Swiss people think about their new gambling law. We keep you updated! Rising tax free revenues The new Swiss law might be bad news for some, but not for everyone. The good news is that tax free revenue from lotteries, casino games and sport bets is going to increase a lot. Until June 1st it’s 1000 Swiss Franc, whereas it will be one million franc after this date. If you convert it to euros. It means an increase from 840 euros to 840.000 euros! Besides that, it will also be possible to organize small Poker tournaments without the interference of casinos. Binding referendum on June 1st Obviously international casinos are still not happy with the law. This is why Switzerland is going to use an interesting political tool: a binding referendum. People will be able to vote about the new casino law. Using a binding referendum is quite unique in Europe, although the Netherlands has used a few non-binding referenda before. The referendum will take place at June 10, a date that has been chosen with a reason. On the same day the Swiss already have to go to the polls to vote in favour or against a constitutional amendement. Enough signatures for a referendum Switzerland is one of the few European countries that often uses referenda. Every resident can give his or her opinion about an important political subject four times a year. It’s also possible to put your own subject on the referendum agenda. You do need to have at least 50.000 signatures to make this possible though. The signature only counts when someone is 18 years or older. The 50.000 signatures for a referendum about the gambling law were collected in just a few weeks. More than 60.000 people wanted to have a referendum and on June 1st they can make clear whether they like the gambling law or not.