Switzerland has voted to legalise online gambling, but with the twist that would keep foreign firms out of the sector.
In a referendum on Sunday, the new Gambling Act, already passed by both houses of the legislature, won nearly three-quarters (72.9%) of the vote, despite accusations that the measures to block all foreign gambling sites amounts to online censorship.
Due to take effect in 2019, the act will allow Swiss-certified casinos and gaming firms to operate legally for the first time, but internet service providers (ISPs) will be required to block access to all other internet gambling firms across the world, a move that government claims will help tackle gambling addiction within the country.
Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga explained to AFP that the requirement to block all foreign betting sites was designed to ensure compliance with the country’s already strict laws on gambling, where betting firms are required to block access to known addicts. Most foreign-domiciled gambling sites have no such requirements, and so the Swiss government argues the only way to protect the estimated 75,000 Swiss gambling addicts is to block access to such sites completely.
The ban were met with fierce opposition form a variety of groups for enacting what is essentially the censorship of the internet and what they described as a move towards an “authoritarian state”. However, the arguments that such censorship would protect Swiss citizens as well as keep the estimated 250m Swiss Francs (£189m) spent by Swiss gamblers online each year within the Swiss economy, appears to have swayed the public.
The global internet gambling industry is worth an estimated $44bn (£33bn), with a dozen or more global players, such as 888 Holdings, Ladbrokes Coral, and Paddy Power, dominating the market around the world. The Swiss Gambling Act will prevent these large firms from setting up operations within Switzerland, and lends support to the independent Swiss gambling industry, which had lobbied strongly for the new law.
Photograph by Felix Broennimann