It is much more difficult to tackle online gambling than illegal poker bars because websites are easy to set up.
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Listening: Illegal online casinos on the rise in Switzerland
Swiss authorities have blocked almost 2,000 illegal online casinos since 2019. The Federal Gaming Board says the number of illegal gambling websites is rising and particularly problematic for gambling addicts.
Thomas Fritschi, Head of the Secretariat of the Federal Gaming Board, can’t say how many of these unlicensed online casinos actually exist. “We suspect that we have only identified the tip of the iceberg. We don’t have any concrete figures or even a map of the situation for the whole of Switzerland,” he told Swiss public television, SRF.
The Swiss federal government and cantons are jointly responsible for combating illegal gambling, which makes investigations more difficult and increases the workload. In principle, it is more difficult to take action against illegal online gambling than against illegal poker players in bars or backyards. “The simple fact is that opening a new illegal website is much easier than closing an illegal website,” said Fritschi.
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Most providers of illegal online gambling originate from Gibraltar and Malta. The reason is that “the companies there operate legally. In other words, it’s a legal company, for example in Malta or Gibraltar, that has an online offering that also arrives in Switzerland,” said Fritschi. “It is illegal here. We block this site, but we can’t prosecute the perpetrators.”
The whole thing also has direct consequences for the Swiss social security system. In contrast to the legal casinos, the illegal ones pay nothing into the social security system. Studies estimate that the state loses over CHF200 million ($235 million) a year as a result.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
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