Switzerland votes to block online gambling domains

Online gambling sites are no longer welcome in Switzerland after legislators voted to require internet service providers to block the domains of unapproved sites.

On Wednesday, the Swiss legislature’s lower house voted in favor of the domain-blocking plan, despite opposition from the Swiss People’s Party and the Greens. The upper house had previously approved the plans.

In January, the lower house’s Legal Affairs Committee narrowly voted to expunge the domain-blocking language from the country’s proposed gambling legislation. But the committee’s vote wasn’t binding and the pro-blocking camp eventually got its way when the matter came up for a floor vote.

Swissinfo.ch quoted Franz Grüter, a member of the People’s Party and the chairman of local broadband provider Green.ch, speaking out against the proposal, saying blocking domains “isn’t in step with the liberal, democratic way of thinking. It’s what dictatorships do.”