Switzerland to Block Foreign-based Gambling Sites

Switzerland is going to block foreign-based companies from the Swiss market.

The federal commissions in charge of gambling, lotteries and betting said that they will soon publish a “blacklist” of online gambling sites that would be blocked as of July 1.

The new move will allow only casinos and gaming companies certified in Switzerland to operate in the country, including on the internet. The law will meanwhile for the first time enable Swiss companies to offer online gambling.

The law is meant to help combat gambling addiction, which according to Addiction Switzerland afflicts nearly 75,000 people in the small Alpine nation, costing society more than half a billion Swiss francs annually.

The law will enable Switzerland to tax revenues from online gambling activities, with the proceeds set to help fund anti-addiction measures.

As per the government, Swiss gamblers spend around 250 million Swiss francs annually on unregulated betting sites abroad that pay nothing into public coffers.