In Switzerland, people like to play at the online casino. But in recent years, especially foreign companies with European gambling licenses have benefited from the popularity of online casinos. In Switzerland, they have therefore decided to make a change, which means that no foreign online casinos have been available for Swiss players since 2019.
Licensed casinos from Switzerland are now also allowed to offer their offers online in a completely legal and legally harmless way if they have been granted a so-called concession extension by the Federal Council. In this text, you will find out exactly what this new online gambling world looks like in Switzerland, and what players have to consider in the Swiss online casino in 2023.
The preferred choice of our customers
The preferred choice of our customersOnline casinos for Swiss players
1 | 100% Match Bonus up to CHF750 + 50 Free Spins |
Bahigo Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
2 | 100% Match Bonus up to CA$1500 + 270 Free Spins |
Ice Casino Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
3 | 425% Match Bonus up to CA$1000 + 125 Free Spins |
Vulkan Vegas Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
4 | 150% Match Bonus up to CA$800 + 75 Free Spins |
Spin Samurai Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
5 | 10% Cashback |
Amok Casino Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
6 | 200% up to CA$100 + 500 Free Spins |
Playzilla Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
7 | Weekly prize drops and tournaments |
NordSlot Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
8 | 100% Match Bonus up to CA$1000 + 100 Free Spins |
Slotwolf Casino Experience |
Play Now | 18 / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply | |
9 | 200% Match Bonus up to CA$200 + 30 Free Spins |
Slottica Experience |
Play Now | 18+ / Play responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply |
Find Reputable Swiss Online Casinos
On May 21, 2012, the Swiss Casino Groups launched the first legal online casino for Switzerland. In the free online casino, Swiss people are still allowed to play completely legally, but not for real money, but only for play money. However, the points you win can be exchanged as rewards at the next casino visit.
Of course, this was not enough for most players, so more and more casino fans have switched to foreign operators. In the meantime, this is no longer necessary. Since the new gambling law came into force, however, you no longer have to play just for play money: Swiss people are now allowed to play roulette, blackjack and baccarat in four legal online casinos until they drop, or until they run out of money. By the way, in addition to Swiss online casinos, we also have more on the topic Online Casino Reviews at hand. There you will find many other casino comparisons with different topics.
Quick Info: Reputable Swiss Online Casinos
- In Switzerland, you can only play in online casinos with a Swiss license;
- Due to the Swiss legal situation, a network lock applies to all other online casinos that do not have a Swiss license;
- On July 1, 2019, the Swiss network lock came into force and foreign casinos without a Swiss license were blocked until further notice.
Access to European online casinos from Switzerland
With the new gambling law, a network lock also came into force in 2019. Since then, Swiss players are no longer allowed and can no longer access foreign online casinos, even if they are licensed in the EU. This technical barrier is difficult to circumvent. Even if you use a VPN or proxy, you usually fail because of the payment options: many credit card providers block deposits in online casinos if the credit card owners come from Switzerland. In addition, it can also take a very long time for deposits and withdrawals.
Those who still manage to overcome the network lock can be happy: many of the European providers have specialized in the Swiss. Nevertheless, it is important to pay attention to the license (it should come from Malta or Gibraltar at best) and choose an online casino that also offers the platform in Canadian, French or Italian.
To determine the security and service of an online casino, you should definitely also look at reviews on the net. We have created a top list in which the best online casinos for Switzerland have been tested and reviewed.
Legal situation for online casinos in Switzerland
Before the vote on the Gambling Act, the implementation of gambling on the Internet was prohibited in Switzerland according to the Gambling Act, which is why in principle no company was allowed to offer a Swiss online casino.
However, these tight restrictions have led to loud protests in recent years, as many players still play online and leave their money with the foreign providers. Due to this fact, the Money Gambling Law was launched, which was adopted relatively unanimously by the people in 2018.
Now Swiss entrepreneurs are also allowed to offer online casinos and sell the country to the Gambling taxes and revenue benefits.
Similar to the “real” casinos, licenses are to be issued for these online casinos, and with technical aids, the possibilities of the game are limited as much as possible due to the risk of addiction.
The exact changes, as well as the network blocking of all unlicensed online casinos without a Swiss license, have been consistently implemented since mid-2019. Until then, all Swiss casinos had the time and opportunity to apply for an online concession. As the first brand of this new generation of legal online casinos, the Grand Casino Baden brought its online casino “JackPots” to the net. In addition to JackPots, there are currently three other, completely legal Swiss online casinos.
The Federal Gaming Commission, or ESBK for short, reviews online casinos and has authority over licensing.
Legal situation for Swiss online Casino players
Swiss players can no longer access foreign online casinos without a Swiss license due to the network lock. But if they are Swiss online casinos, nothing stands in the way of gambling.
Lotteries and sports betting are allowed in Switzerland anyway, also online; only the providers are potentially liable to prosecution if they want to set up their company within Switzerland.
The new Money gambling law brings many legal advantages for Swiss players. Because if you play in a legal and licensed online casino from Switzerland, you can contact the public prosecutor's office or the police if you suspect fraud. This is not so easy with foreign providers (e.g. Austrian Online Casinos and Online Casinos in Canada ).
The new legislation thus secures players from becoming victims of fraud. In addition, the requirements for online casinos for the prevention of gambling addiction are extremely high, so that another protective barrier has also been erected here.
Swiss Online Casinos Security
What do you have to pay attention to when playing in online casinos in Switzerland?
As already mentioned, gambling in foreign online casinos is no longer allowed. Instead, we recommend playing at a Swiss online casino. But despite the legality, you should – as always – read the fine print and inform yourself about the offers, discounts and game opportunities. Because if you lose money through your own fault, you will not get it back.
Despite the network lock, we fully recommend the online casinos that are approved in the EU. Most casinos (and all the casinos we can recommend) are licensed either in Switzerland, the UK or Malta. On the one hand, the authorities make sure that the games are fair, payouts take place quickly and that the funds are safely invested; and on the other hand, you can contact the respective authorities if there are any problems.
There are also casinos that are licensed overseas, for example on Curaçao. These do not automatically have to be black sheep, but in this case it is much more difficult to enforce claims and demands with a small authority in the Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao is one of them) than with a large organization within the European Union.
Gambling in Switzerland - what is prohibited, what is allowed?
- We have already established that it is allowed to participate as a player in casino games, sports betting and also online poker in Switzerland. On the other hand, it is forbidden to play at foreign online casinos that have been blocked by Switzerland due to the network lock.
- Furthermore, there are more than 20 state-licensed casinos in Switzerland and participation in gambling is normally allowed in these. They will now also start to create their online casino portfolio, so that Swiss casino players no longer have to do without gambling on the Internet.
- Poker games are now permitted outside the casinos since the Gambling Act – small home games with friends or larger tournaments with a stake of up to CHF 250, which are organized commercially, for example, are now officially permitted.
Which legal online casinos from Switzerland are there? | |
---|---|
www.jackpots.ch | Grand Casino Baden |
www.mycasino.ch | Grand Casino Lucerne |
www.casino777.ch | Casino Davos |
www.starvegas.ch | Casino Interlaken |
The Swiss Online Casinos
- are strictly controlled by the Swiss supervisory authority, the Federal Casino Commission ESBK: www.esbk.admin.ch
- ensure protection from gambling addiction. The players set themselves loss limits, can have themselves blocked or are blocked by the casino. The game bans apply in all Swiss terrestrial casinos and online casinos
- guarantee the player protection from fraud and manipulation. Winnings and credits on player accounts at Swiss online casinos are guaranteed to be paid out
- paying taxes and duties to the AHV/IV in Switzerland
Casinos and Casinos in Switzerland
All casinos in Switzerland, or their licenses, are registered in A-Casinos and B-Casinos broken down.
A-Casino = Grand Casinos, offer a comprehensive table game offer and the game of slot machines. The operator is allowed to network the games within the Swiss casinos and among the casinos, in particular for the formation of jackpots (e.g. Swiss Jackpot).
B-Casino = Course rooms, may offer a maximum of three types of table games (e.g. poker, blackjack and roulette) as well as the game at a maximum of 150 gambling machines with lower loss and profit potential (stake).
A-Casinos in Switzerland
- Grand Casino St. Gallen
- Grand Casino Lucerne
- Casino Lugano
- Grand Casino Bern
- Grand Casino Basel
- Casino Barrière de Montreux
- Grand Casino Baden
B-Swiss Casinos
- Casino Zürichsee
- Casino Zermatt
- Casino St. Moritz
- Casino Schaffhausen
- Grand Casino Admiral Mendrisio
- Casinò Locarno
- Casino du Lac Meyrin
- Casino Jura du Courrendlin
- Casino Kursaal Interlaken
- Casino de Fribourg
- Casino Davos
- Casino Crans-Montana
- Casino Bad Ragaz
But it is not only the division into A- and B-casinos Switzerland, also as far as admission, opening hours and age of admission are concerned, there are no same rules for all casinos in Switzerland. In Davos, for example, you are allowed to enter at the age of 18 (in Canada, the minimum age in all casinos is 21). In St Moritz you have to be at least 20. The casino age restriction in Switzerland is therefore 18 years.
FAQs about Swiss Online Casinos
🇨🇭 Can I play as a German at a Swiss online casino?
No. In the Online Casinos with an official Swiss license, only citizens from Switzerland with a valid registration address from Switzerland are allowed to play.
💳 Why can I only withdraw to a Swiss bank account at a Swiss online casino?
This ensures that only Swiss citizens play in the Swiss online casinos. Meanwhile, there are additional Payment options with which the withdrawal period to the Swiss bank account is significantly shortened or simplified (Yapeal).
❓ Why are the portfolios in official Swiss online casinos so different?
There are two different online gambling concessions in Switzerland. One that only offers a few hundred games. And one with which there is no restriction in terms of covering Online Slot Machines out there. Which online license a provider receives depends on how many residents live in the city where the parent casino has its headquarters.
🎰 Why are there so few new online casinos in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, only officially resident casinos in Switzerland are allowed New Online Casinos operate. Therefore, the number is limited.
💡 Can I also play poker at a Swiss online casino?
Yes, in addition to the Live Casino There are currently providers with poker offers that are connected to their own poker networks. For example, PokerStars established its own network in which only players from Switzerland play against each other.