Last Friday, Switzerland’s Federal Council officially issued its very first online gambling licenses to four local casino operators as well as their online technology partners. The gaming permits were approved by the country’s Federal Gaming Commission (ESBK) in April as part of the preparations for the July 1 launch of the country’s regulated online market. Grand Casino Baden, Casino Davos, Grand Casino Luzern, and Casino Pfäffikon, the four casinos, submitted the applications to the ESBK, a move that effectively paved the way for the launch of digital or online gambling under country’s new gambling regime.
The country’s new Gambling Act was approved by legislators last years and was widely supports by voters during a referendum that was held last summers. Following its approval, the new Gambling Act officially took effect on January 1 and one of its most notable aspects is the fact that it allows Swiss land-based casinos to apply for and be authorized to run online gambling businesses.
Fortunately, Switzerland’s new Gaming Act does not completely ignore international companies as they will also be able to be legally present in the Swiss market albeit through partnerships with the country’s local land-based casino operators. That said, Swiss internet service providers have recently been directed to block all unlicensed online gambling domains that target Swiss gamblers.
As it stands, there are a total of 21 licenses casinos in Switzerland and some of them are still waiting to be approved for online gambling – the rest are waiting to see how everything turns out before they can decide whether or not to venture into it. International operators such as The Stars Group has been looking for a local Swiss partner after discontinuing its Swiss operations to avoid regulatory action. It is however yet to announce any partnership.
More on the Four Online Gambling Licensees
As mentioned earlier, the four land-based casinos were approved for online gambling over a month ago by the local gambling regulator and now with the Federal Council’s approval, they are anticipated to go live on July 1. However, there are still a few hurdles that they have to go through before they are able to launch their online gambling operations. One of these hurdles is the fact that all four of them will have to have the software of their online games certified by the ESBK.
The Pfäffikon venue has inked a deal with renowned gaming solutions provider Playtech while the Lucerne casino will operate under its own mycasino brand. Grand Casino Baden, on the other hand, will launch online under its Jackpots.ch brand that has operated as a free-play site for years. Finally, the Davos venue has partnered with Belgium’s Ardent Group and their online casino will operate under the company’s Casino777 brand.
