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Legislation

Switzerland – Online casino games to hit Switzerland in July

By - 19 November 2018

The Swiss Federal Council has published the details on its new law on gambling which will be introduced on January 1, 2019.

The law allows the operation of online games and reinforces the protection against gambling addiction. The provisions on the blocking of websites offering unauthorised games will only come into effect six months later. At that date, the concessions including authorized online casino games will have been granted.

From January 1st, it will be possible for poker enthusiasts to participate in small tournaments “organised outside casinos to attract players without danger of addiction, the starting bet per player was set to 200 francs and the maximum sum of the bets to 20,000 francs.

The new law “also determines the maximum amount of bets for small lotteries and raffles. Following criticism expressed in consultation, the Federal Council raised limits from 25,000 to 50,000 francs for raffles and from 400,000 to 500,000 francs for small games used to finance events of supra-regional importance. When a game meets the criteria for a raffle, but the sum of bets exceeds 50,000 francs, it can be requalified in small lottery and can take place as a result subject to a cantonal authorization. ”

At the beginning of 2019, casinos will be able to request an extension of their poker or roulette dealership for the exploitation of these online games. During the first semester, the Federal Council will decide on these requests. Casinos will be able to open a website online from 1 July 2019, when the provisions on the blocking of websites offering unauthorised games will come into force.

For online poker, casinos may, under certain conditions, collaborate with a foreign operator although they must be allowed to operate a similar game in their own country and not be on the FATF blacklist. Players residing in Switzerland will have to open an account with the casino and the foreign partner will have to ensure that they don’t have access to its unauthorized gambling offer outside of Switzerland. The new legislation, says the Federal Council “strengthens the protection against gambling addiction and gives more weight to prevention. »

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