The Swiss Conference of the Cantonal Directors in Charge of Gambling and Lotteries has expressed support for online gaming regulations, but cautions against allowing international online firms to operate in the country.
In a press statement, the conference said it has discussed regulations and decided that “it would be convenient to give gambling operators the opportunity to offer their games on the internet.”
The conference wants online gambling to be limited the brick-and-mortar operators currently licensed in Switzerland, and not to international online companies.
“We support the idea of extending the current license,” the conference said in its release. “The online environment is not a new market: it is only a new medium to distribute the offer already available, it addresses the same clients and it meets the same needs of the traditional games.
“The arrival of new operators specialized in the online sector would lead to a competition that would be problematic from a political, social and possibly even economic point of view,” it said. “We believe that those who hold a license to offer brick-and-mortar casino games should not be ‘punished’ for the fact that they have respected the rules that currently forbid them to run operations online.”
A new gaming bill was first released in May. According to the bill, Switzerland has plans to plans to make all gambling winnings tax free and also to allow “small” poker tournaments and home games to be held outside licensed brick-and-mortar casinos.
