Swiss Online Casinos

Ever since Switzerland's gambling ban was lifted in 1993, its land gambling industry has gone from strength to strength. However, the Swiss government has banned online gambling, which is why there are currently no locally-based Swiss online casinos. The good news though is that the government does not prevent online gamblers from playing offshore.

Gambling In Switzerland

Gambling was strictly prohibited in Switzerland until 1993, when the government finally permitted limited-stakes casinos. In 2000 unlimited-stakes casino games were also permitted - for the first time in over eight decades. Both sports betting and poker are also very popular in Switzerland.

Currently there are two categories of gambling in the country - games of chance and games of skill, the former being permitted only in Swiss land casinos.

Even though sanctioned gambling is relatively new in Switzerland, according to a recent survey, almost 60 percent of the Swiss population are thought to regularly play the lottery, while over 40 percent have played at a land casino at least once. Of that percentage, almost 20 percent have been identified as frequent players or gamblers.

Online Gambling In Switzerland

While the Swiss government has embraced land gambling, it has not embraced online gambling. In fact, online casinos are currently prohibited in Switzerland. That said, Swiss authorities do not have any measures in place to prevent Swiss online gambling fans from accessing and playing at foreign-owned sites.

Similarly, Swiss banks have no problem processing online gambling-related payments. And for this reason, most of the world's leading international online casinos are more than happy to accept Swiss online gamblers.