Swiss voters greenlight ban on international operators
Referendum result gives land-based casinos exclusive access to online licences
Swiss voters have voted overwhelmingly to adopt new online gambling restrictions in a move that will seemingly close the door to international operators from 2019.
In a referendum on Sunday, new restrictions enshrined in the Money Gaming Act were approved by a vote of 73% to 27% against, despite a very low turnout at the polls.
The Money Gaming Act, initially approved by parliamentary vote in October, allows only local operators with a land-based presence in Switzerland to operate online gaming websites.
Swiss casino operators now have the exclusive right to apply for licences, in a process that will be restricted to them for a six-year period, effectively meaning that all international operators are barred from accessing the Swiss market.
In addition, under the Act, Swiss ISP providers are required by law to block the access of international gaming operators, with the Swiss government reimbursing them for any expenses incurred in doing so.
Measures aimed at preventing problem gambling were also included.
The voter referendum itself was only scheduled due to the efforts of three left-wing Swiss political parties, the Young Radical Liberals, the Young Liberals and the Young People’s Union, who collected the required 50,000 signatures from Swiss voters to do so.
The three parties opposed the new Act, calling it a ‘step backwards in terms of digitization and restricts our competitiveness’, proposing instead that international online gaming platforms should be integrated and that the companies concerned should be regulated and taxed.
In a recent interview with Swiss news outlet Zentral Plus, Nicolas Rimoldi, vice-president of the FDP Youth League decried the new proposals, saying that “ISP blocking severely limits the freedom of information and consumption. Restricting our freedom of choice on the Internet by the state is equal to censorship.”
Karl Vogle, of the Swiss Christian Democratic Party, one of the advocates pushing for approval of the act called the vote a “pragmatic decision by Swiss voters who want to continue funding civil society projects with revenue of the casinos and lotteries.”