Are Online Casinos Legal in Switzerland?

Online casinos are legal in Switzerland, but only inside a closed domestic concession system.

A standalone online casino cannot simply apply for a Swiss internet gambling licence. Legal online casino operation is tied to the country’s existing casino concession system.

A Swiss casino must first hold a federal casino concession. It can then apply for an extension allowing it to offer casino games online, and the individual games it provides also require approval from the Federal Gaming Board.

This is why foreign online casinos serving Switzerland do not become legal simply because they hold a gambling licence somewhere else.

Switzerland does not prohibit online casinos. It limits who can provide them by treating online gambling as an extension of the domestic casino concession system.

Are Online Casinos Legal in Switzerland?

Yes, when they are operated within the Swiss federal casino framework.

Since 1 January 2019, Swiss casino concession holders have been able to apply for an extension allowing them to offer casino games online.

The Federal Council grants that extension based on a recommendation from the Federal Gaming Board. The casino must then obtain Federal Gaming Board approval for each online game before offering it to players.

There is no equivalent route allowing an unrelated offshore or internet-only casino to enter the market solely by applying for a standalone remote gambling licence.

Why Can’t Any Online Casino Apply for a Swiss Licence?

Because market access begins with the casino concession itself.

Anyone wishing to operate a casino in Switzerland needs a concession granted by the Federal Council. The government determines how many casino concessions are available and awards them for long periods.

The current concession period runs from 2025 to 2044.

Only casinos inside this concession system can apply to extend their authorisation to online casino games.

This makes Switzerland a closed market in a very specific sense. Entry is not simply a question of meeting a list of online technical standards and paying a licensing fee. The operator first needs a place inside the domestic casino concession structure.

How Does a Swiss Casino Become an Online Casino?

The process has several separate stages.

First, the operator needs a Swiss casino concession. That concession permits casino gaming within the approved domestic casino business.

Second, the casino must apply for an extension to that concession if it wants to offer games online.

The application is submitted through the Federal Gaming Board, and the Federal Council decides whether the online extension should be granted.

Third, an approved online casino still needs permission from the Federal Gaming Board for the games it wants to offer before they go live.

This means online authorisation is not a completely separate licence sitting beside the land-based concession. It is built on top of it.

Who Regulates Online Casinos in Switzerland?

Casino gambling is supervised by the Federal Gaming Board, known as the FGB in English and ESBK in German.

The FGB supervises Swiss casinos, monitors compliance with casino law, approves casino games, collects casino tax, oversees player-protection and anti-money-laundering requirements, and combats illegal casino gambling.

The Federal Council has a separate role because it grants casino concessions and approves extensions allowing concession holders to operate online.

Switzerland also has another gambling regulator, Gespa, but it does not supervise casino gaming.

What Is the Difference Between the Federal Gaming Board and Gespa?

The two authorities supervise different parts of the Swiss gambling system.

The Federal Gaming Board regulates casinos. That includes land-based casinos, authorised online casino games, casino concession supervision, and enforcement against illegal casino gambling.

Gespa regulates other large-scale gambling products, including areas such as lotteries, sports betting, and certain skill-based money games.

This distinction matters because an online roulette or slot site falls into a different regulatory category from a licensed sports-betting or lottery product.

The original casino authorisation question should therefore be checked against the Federal Gaming Board rather than Gespa.

What Is the Legal Basis for Swiss Online Casinos?

The current system is based on the Federal Act on Gambling.

The Act brought Switzerland’s modern gambling rules into one framework and, from 2019, allowed casino concession holders to extend their operations online.

It also created mechanisms for dealing with unauthorised online gambling, including website blocking.

The result is a legal market in which domestic online casino gambling is permitted, but only through operators that sit inside the Swiss concession system.

What Changed With the 2025–2044 Casino Concessions?

A new 20-year casino concession period began on 1 January 2025.

The Federal Council awarded the new concessions in 2023 for operation from 2025 through 2044.

This matters because the concession system determines which businesses can form the base of Switzerland’s legal online casino market.

Online casino supply can expand when another concession holder receives an online extension, but a completely separate internet-only operator cannot bypass the concession structure.

The first year of the new concession period also brought changes among operating casinos, with some facilities closing, opening, or extending their services.

How Many Swiss Casinos Offer Online Gambling?

As of March 2026, the Federal Gaming Board listed 10 Swiss casinos with authorised online platforms.

They included Casino Baden, Casino Luzern, Casino Pfäffikon, Casino Davos, Casino Interlaken, Casino Bern, Casino Meyrin, Casino Lugano, Casino Mendrisio, and Casino Locarno.

The market has expanded gradually rather than opening to dozens of standalone internet operators.

Casino Mendrisio launched its online operation in July 2025, while Casino Locarno followed in March 2026.

This illustrates how growth works under the Swiss model: another existing concession holder adds an approved online operation rather than a new offshore brand simply obtaining a remote licence.

Does Every Swiss Land-Based Casino Automatically Have an Online Casino?

No. A land-based concession gives the casino the legal foundation required to apply, but it does not automatically include online gambling.

The operator needs the additional concession extension before it can offer casino games over the internet.

This explains why the number of authorised online casinos is smaller than the number of land-based casino concession holders.

Does Every Game at a Swiss Online Casino Need Approval?

Yes. Receiving permission to operate online does not give a casino unrestricted freedom to launch any game it wants.

The Federal Gaming Board requires authorisation for the individual casino games offered by regulated operators.

This applies to the online product as well as the broader supervision of the casino itself.

The regulatory system therefore controls both who can operate and what can be offered.

Are Foreign-Licensed Online Casinos Legal in Switzerland?

Not merely because they hold a foreign licence.

A licence issued in another jurisdiction does not replace the Swiss casino concession and online extension required to operate legally within Switzerland.

The important legal question is not whether the casino is regulated somewhere. It is whether it has the authorisation Switzerland requires for the Swiss market.

A technically accessible foreign site can therefore still sit outside Switzerland’s legal casino system.

What Happens to Unauthorised Online Casino Websites?

Switzerland uses website blocking as a central part of its enforcement system.

The Federal Gaming Board maintains a list of unauthorised online casino domains.

Under the Gambling Act, access can be blocked where an online gambling service operates in Switzerland without the required authorisation, where the operator is based abroad, or where its location is concealed.

Swiss internet providers are required to implement the access restrictions ordered under the system.

This creates an important distinction between the internet generally and the regulated Swiss market.

A foreign casino may exist and operate internationally while Swiss law still requires domestic access to that service to be restricted.

How Active Is Switzerland’s Offshore Casino Blocking?

The blocking system is actively used.

In 2025, the Federal Gaming Board reported that it had 580 new domains associated with unauthorised online gambling offers blocked, almost 30% more than in the previous year.

The list continues to be updated as new domains appear.

This matters because offshore operators can change domain names or launch replacement websites after an earlier address has been restricted.

Enforcement therefore operates as an ongoing process rather than a one-time blacklist.

Are Swiss Players Breaking the Law by Using an Offshore Casino?

Not under the Gambling Act simply by gambling on an unauthorised online platform.

The Federal Gaming Board states that players in Switzerland who use unauthorised online gambling platforms are not liable to prosecution under the Gambling Act.

The operator’s position is different.

An offshore casino can be unauthorised to offer its services in Switzerland even though the individual player is not criminally prosecuted merely for using it.

Player liability and operator authorisation are separate legal questions.

What Protection Does a Player Lose at an Unauthorised Casino?

An offshore casino sits outside the Swiss casino supervision system.

That means the Federal Gaming Board is not supervising the operator in the same way it supervises an authorised Swiss casino.

Swiss casino requirements around game approval, social protection, financial supervision, and operational controls therefore should not be assumed to apply to that offshore operator.

The Federal Gaming Board itself warns that players using unauthorised platforms do so at their own risk.

This is one reason the legal distinction matters even where the player is not prosecuted.

How Does Switzerland Regulate Player Protection?

Player protection is built into the casino regulatory framework rather than being left entirely to individual operator policy.

The Federal Gaming Board supervises compliance with statutory social-protection requirements designed to reduce gambling-related harm.

Swiss gambling law also includes exclusion mechanisms and obligations for casinos to identify and respond to problematic gambling behaviour.

The precise controls belong to the wider responsible-gambling framework, but the important point for online casino legality is that player protection forms part of the conditions under which authorised casinos operate.

Can Unauthorised Casinos Advertise Legally in Switzerland?

Unauthorised gambling offers cannot simply target the Swiss market on the same basis as an authorised casino.

Swiss gambling law restricts advertising for unauthorised gambling services as part of the wider system designed to keep illegal supply outside the regulated market.

The enforcement logic is consistent with website blocking: Switzerland permits online casino gambling, but attempts to channel that activity through operators inside the domestic authorisation framework.

Why Is Switzerland’s Online Casino Market Called “Closed”?

Because legal market entry is limited structurally, not simply through strict compliance requirements.

In an open licensing model, an operator that meets the required technical, financial, and regulatory standards can generally apply for a licence.

Switzerland does not offer that type of standalone online casino application route.

The applicant first needs access to the federal casino concession system, where the number of concessions is determined by the Federal Council and concessions run for 20 years.

Only then can online casino authorisation be added.

This means the government controls online casino supply partly by controlling the underlying pool of concession holders.

What Actually Determines Whether a Swiss Online Casino Is Legal?

Three questions cover most of the legal structure.

1. Does the operator hold a Swiss casino concession?
2. Has the Federal Council granted an extension allowing that casino to operate online?
3. Has the Federal Gaming Board approved the games being offered?

If a foreign casino simply holds an international licence and accepts Swiss registrations, that is not the same legal structure.

Accessibility, payment acceptance, language, and international licensing do not replace Swiss authorisation.

Why Switzerland’s Online Casino System Works This Way

The structure becomes much easier to understand once online gambling is viewed as an extension of Switzerland’s domestic casino system rather than a separate internet industry.

The Federal Council determines the available casino concessions. Existing concession holders can seek permission to expand online. The Federal Gaming Board supervises the casinos and their games. Unauthorised offshore supply can then be restricted through domain blocking and other enforcement measures.

This creates a relatively small legal online casino market while allowing Switzerland to keep the same basic regulatory relationship between the state and casino operators across both physical and digital gambling.

Switzerland does not prohibit online casinos. It limits who can provide them. Legal online casino supply is treated as an extension of the domestic casino concession system, while unauthorised offshore supply is kept outside that system through licensing rules, supervision, and active website blocking.