Nearly 3 percent of the Swiss population is addicted to gambling or at risk of addiction. That’s the conclusion of a new study commissioned by the Federal Gaming Commission and the Swiss Lottery and Betting Board (Comlot). The study from the Swiss Institute for Addiction and Health Research analyzed data on gambling in 2017 and compared it to data gathered in 2012.
“It is important to have this kind of analysis with the new law on gambling coming into force on January 1,” Manuel Richard of Comlot said at a recent press conference in Bern.
Of more than 18,800 respondents, 69 percent said they had gambled at some point in their lives. In 2012, it was 70.6 percent. Just over half of those surveyed (55 percent) said they had played in 2017.
According to SwissInfo.com, the most popular games were Swiss lotteries (48.2 percent), followed by bingo or other private games (14.3 percent), table games (8.6 percent), vending machines and slot machines in Swiss casinos (6.7 percent), gaming rooms and casinos abroad and foreign lotteries (5.7 percent in total), Swiss sports betting (4.5 percent) and gambling with international online operators (2.3 percent).
The share of regular players has fallen in recent years: 18 percent in 2007, 16.9 percent in 2012 and 16.4 percent in 2017. Two years ago, most players invested small amounts, with 44.1 percent wagering less than CHF10 (US$10.06) a month and 39 percent spending CHF10.99.
In 2017, 2.8 percent of respondents were “at risk” and 0.2 percent showed pathological addiction levels, the report indicates. The problem has been become more entrenched due to online games offered by international operators (22.1 percent).
