Online gambling sites lose bid to access Swiss market - court

bet at home com AG

14/12/2021 11:00

ZURICH, Dec 14 (Reuters) - A Swiss court has blocked
requests by foreign online gambling operators to access the
Swiss market, which gaming officials have limited since 2019 to
Swiss-approved games of chance.
    That means Swiss gamblers can bet online only with Swiss
casinos and lotteries that pay tax in the country and that
protect people against falling victim to addiction.  
    In four verdicts released on Tuesday, the Federal
Administrative Court ruled against Malta-based Interwetten
International Ltd, Videoslots Ltd, bet-at-home Entertainment
Ltd, and Lopoca Gaming Ltd in suits against the Swiss Federal
Gaming Board seeking to circumvent the ban.
    "It goes without saying that the restriction of access to
online gaming services that are not licensed in Switzerland is
in the public interest and can be enforced with strict
measures," the court said.
    

 (Reporting by Michael Shields; editing by David Evans)
 ((Michael.Shields@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 3630; Reuters
Messaging: michael.shields.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))