Switzerland moves to regulate online gaming 23/04/2009
Stephen Carter
Switzerland has begun the process of regulating online gaming, eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.
The Swiss government yesterday published a draft proposal to develop a cohesive framework for the regulation of online gaming within the country.
Under existing Swiss law, it is not an offence to play, but is an offence to offer anything other than certain lotteries and sports betting online.
A restrictive licensing regime is proposed under which a handful of licences would be issued only to companies registered in the country, and gaming products only to be offered to Swiss residents.
The move is expected to lead to lobbying from the country’s gaming and lottery industry to ensure that companies that have not obeyed the current prohibition against running online gaming operations in Switzerland will not be in the running for a licence.
Swiss gaming lawyer and owner of the law firm Haeberling, George Haeberling, has been advising a group of land-based casino operators evaluating these opportunities. He told EGRmagazine.com that he believes the proposals in their current form will need to be modified.
“Practically, you can prohibit them from doing lots of advertising, but preventing the Swiss banks from processing payments from operators outside of the country is not going to be accepted," he said. "They may have to allow Swiss operators to go abroad.”
The legislation is expected to take three years to implement.
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Posted: 23/04/2009
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