Despite gambling regulation, the Swiss are having more gambling problems
Games of chance are also very popular in Switzerland. Online casinos, sports betting, financial market betting, lottery scratch tickets and lotto are in trend. The gambling regulations of 2019, regulate the market, even when it comes to player protection. However recently there has been an increase in the number of problems associated with to danger of addiction and also financial expenses. And this, even though the new regulations of 2019 wanted to specifically protect the population from excessive gambling!
Sucht Schweiz and GREA have recently published an interesting study on the Swiss citizens’ use of games of chance. The survey did not focus only on the clarification of possible problematic gambling behaviour. The aim was also to register information about the whole market and see how attractive it is, i.e., how it is conceived by the people. However, it is noticeable that there is a high percentage of potential problematic gambling behaviour.
The number of problem players seems to be increasing, the expenses on games of chance are increasing and the people are making more use of the relevant services.
This information is quite strange especially since the target of the Gambling Act of 2019 was to limit the Swiss‘ excessive gambling in an effective way.
The Gambling Act has been regulating the gambling market in Switzerland since 2019.
The Gambling Act came into effect in 2019 and it replaced the Casinos Act of 1998 by offering a differentiating modern legislation. The clear regulations which are defined in the new provisions had a great impact. Operators which do not hold a Swiss licence have now been blocked (at least most of them).
The Gambling Act has four main aims which according to the Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission (ESBK) are the following:
- “The population has to be adequately protected from the dangers which arise from gambling; the danger of excessive gambling is here included."
- "Money games have to be operated in a safe and transparent way.”
- "All the net profit from lotteries and sports betting should be used for charitable purposes in a transparent way.”
- "Part of the casino’s gross revenue from gambling will be used for the old age and survivors’ insurance and disability insurance.”
More players, more problem players, more expenses
The Swiss’s interest in gambling has increased considerably since the Gambling Act came into force. The above-mentioned study depicts that before the new regulations came into effect around 25 % of the regular players were gambling every week. The percentage increased to 30 by 2021.
The number of persons who have acute gambling problems has more than doubled according to this survey. In fact, from 2.3 % it is now 5.2%! The number of people who – as the study calls it – have a moderate or problematic risk profile has also increased. This concerns mostly the 18- to 29- year-olds. 18.8 % of the players in this age bracket fall under this category.
Even more money is being spent on gambling. Once again it is the young adults who are investing a lot. The average for this group is at 162 francs per month (around 165 Euro). The study shows an average of 105 francs (around 107 Euro) per player and per month. The money is mostly spent in online lotto and digital scratch cards. These are followed by sports betting and online slot machines. Besides this, there is a strong upsurge in financial markets betting.
Prevention campaign by the cantons
According to the Swiss reports in the media, the cantons are reacting to this increase in problem figures. In a joint national campaign, they want to call attention to the existing help and counselling services. According to the study, one third of the players do not know about these services.
The focus is on the website Gambling-Check.ch. All those interested can find help for their gambling behaviour here. One can also find advice about how to decrease one’s own risk. The campaign is especially being rolled out on popular social media channels so that as many people as possible are reached.
Conclusion
From the survey done by Sucht Schweiz and GREA it is still uncertain whether the Gambling Act has anything (and if so to what extent) to do with the problem figures. However, it is noticeable that within a relatively short time after the new regulations came into force there were clear changes and these changes can lead to negative effects. There is a great probability that the new measures to regulate the market have failed to some extent.
In Germany things also seem not to be running as originally planned when it comes to the recent regulations on online gambling. This is also suggested in a survey carried out by Gamble Joe on the effect analysis of the GlüStV 2021.
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