Two Swiss Casinos Receive Online Gambling Licences

The gaming regulator in Switzerland has announced that two more licences have been issued to casinos for online play. The Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission (ESBK) confirmed that land-based casinos in Interloken and Bern had been given licences which allowed them to offer online play to supplement their bricks and mortar betting.

The two casinos can’t instantly launch their online gambling just yet as the products they want to offer must first be cleared by the Federal Gaming Board. However, this is a short process compared to getting a licence and is often nothing more than a technicality.

Gambling expansion

The two latest licences will take the total to six, out of a possible 21 licensees in Switzerland.

In January of this year, Switzerland opted to extend gambling in the country and is currently in the process of considering any applications from licensed casinos. In June, four land-based casinos applied for an online licence, and now with the additional two, there are six which could be offering betting online very soon.

All of these six casinos are based in German-speaking provinces in Switzerland, with none of the French-speaking casinos so far making any applications for online licences.

There are currently international betting sites serving the Swiss market without either authority or regulation, and there are hopes that licensed sites will be able to persuade customers to switch. Foreign gambling operators will remain blocked from obtaining a licence in Switzerland.

Count-down to launch 

News that the ESBK has approved their applications will come as a major boost to the casinos, with much anticipation over their eventual launch.

Casino Interlaken has been teasing customers with peeks at what its new website will look like, expected to operate under the StarVegas brand. Bern hasn’t been so forthcoming with its plans for online gambling but its operator, Casinos Austria International, has hooked up with Betway in other countries so it’s expected to take the same route in Switzerland.

The casinos that received approval for online play in June are Casino Davos, Grand Casino Baden, Casino Zürichsee and Grand Casino Luzern.

Grand Casino Baden has already launched its website for online play, the first of any Swiss casinos to do so and others are expected to be following suit very soon.