Casino blacklist in Switzerland does not function well

In Switzerland there are more than 300 Online Casinos, which are on a nationwide blacklist. The responsible gambling commission, ESBK wants to safeguard the gamblers from illegal and therefore untrustworthy platforms. Unfortunately this casino blacklist does not seem to be functioning reliably. At least, many of these platforms are still freely accessible despite being blacklisted.

In Switzerland, the Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission (ESKB) is responsible for the gambling regulation. The authority is also responsible of overseeing, that users are safeguarded from untrustworthy gambling providers without licence. For this reason, there is a nationwide casino blacklist. All dubious gambling sites, which cannot be reached from Switzerland, are listed here. However the blacklist is apparently not functioning well, so that gambling fans can still access dubious platforms, despite the blacklisting.

Many blacklisted casinos can still be accessed

The Swiss news portal “Watson” reports, that only 53 % of the 316 domains on the casino blacklist are actually banned. The cable network operator is responsible to oversee that the ban is actually functioning. In Switzerland there are more than 300 different internet providers. These are instructed to refuse access to the 316 illegal Casino-Domains. Unfortunately this does not seem to function well in practice. Apparently, the ESBK seems to be overwhelmed by the supervision und points out, that due to the variety of internet providers, supervision is only possible on a random basis.

Gambling providers must apply for a licence in Switzerland

Those online gambling providers who want to offer their amusement machines online, must apply for an official licence at the responsible ESBK. Those who provide their service without such a licence are violating the Gambling Act and end up on the casino blacklist. The ESKB publish the provider names which are on the casino blacklist, monthly. At the same time the internet providers are instructed to block access to these domains.

Just through UPC Schweiz, the largest cable network operator in Switzerland, there are more than 260 of the 326 actually banned domains, which are still accessible without any restrictions. At the end of the day, the protection of the gambler is being affected because of the incomplete supervision of the casino blacklist. If the blacklist system is not functioning as planned, gamblers can still gamble on illegal platforms. Measures to protect the gambler, such as deposit and loss limits are here most of the time not observed, which in turn can increase the risk of addiction.

Legal Gambling service is however adopted well

Indeed the practical implementation of the casino blacklist in Switzerland is facing problems. However, Switzerland is on the right track, when it comes to the monitoring of online gambling. Thus the legal gambling providers last year had a turnover amounting to between 160 and 180 million francs. Currently, when converted, that amounts to 145 to 165 million Euro. One should however here consider, that even the worldwide Corona pandemic has contributed in a positive way to the increase in turnover from online gambling.

Conclusion

It is surprising, that in spite of the political will, to introduce a nationwide casino blacklist, this does not seem to be functioning reliably. The responsible Gambling Commission ESBK points out, that due to the variety of Internet providers, only a comprehensive supervision is possible. The result is, that in spite of casino blacklists, a large majority of the illegal platforms can still be accessed. 

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