Swiss top court upholds ban on foreign online betting operators

bet at home com AG

28/06/2022 11:53

ZURICH, June 28 (Reuters) - Switzerland's supreme court has
upheld a ban on accessing foreign online gambling sites, dashing
the hopes of three betting outfits to tap the Swiss market.
    The Federal Court said in a statement on Tuesday the "domain
name system" ban was proportionate. Gaming officials have since
2019 used network blocks to limit access to the market to
Swiss-approved games of chance.
    The system 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.
    German group bet-at-home.com AG  ARTG.DE  had on Monday
already revealed the verdict.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASM000H1F
    The three rulings posted on the court's website did not name
the companies involved.
    In four verdicts released last year, the Federal
Administrative Court had 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.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2SZ1UA

 (Reporting by Michael Shields
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((Michael.Shields@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 3630; Reuters
Messaging: michael.shields.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))