Swiss Voters Support New Online Gambling Law to Ban Foreign Operators

The last weekend saw an all-important vote take place in Switzerland where residents of the country demonstrated their support for the reformed online gambling law, which will regulate the e-gaming industry in Switzerland and restrict foreign operators from offering their services. Around 73% of the voters supported the new law albeit the total turnaround was quite law, with just 34% of eligible voters getting involved.

Big Changes in 2019

The new gambling law, which is set to come into force in 2019, will only allow Swiss-certified online casinos to offer their services to the residents, restricting access to offshore operators. According to currently available numbers, Swiss spend in excess of $250 million with foreign operators and the amended Gambling Act looks to change this.

Alongside financial considerations the Swiss government hopes this will help in dealing with problem gambling. The new law has already been approved by both houses of the parliament so the public vote was the final step required for the implementation.

Concerns Over Internet Censorship

The debate about changes to the online gambling law has been going on for some time in Switzerland. One of the biggest concerns expressed by those opposing the Gambling Act has to do with the internet censorship and a worrying precedent this law could set.

Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga dismisses these concerns and explains the decision as a pragmatic one, whereby Swiss voters have decided they'd rather use the money generated from the gambling industry to fund civil society projects.

Monopolization of the Market

Every time a country decides to restrict foreign operators there are concerns about potential monopolization of the market as domestic operators are give a lot of free reign without any competition to worry about. The part of Swiss public opposing the changes has expressed similar concerns in light of the latest decision.

These concerns, however, seem to carry little weight in the discussion as the country's officials are worried about offshore gambling sites taking an increasing amount of money out of the country, adversely affecting the funding for the civil society and the state pension system.

As things stand right now, the new Gambling Act will become effective in Switzerland at the start of 2019, effectively banning foreign gambling operators from the country. Opponents of the law have announced they'll continue their fight but it seems they will be focused primarily on the issue of the internet censorship at large and making sure the new law isn't used as a basis for future restrictions in other areas.