Switzerland’s online gambling law looks to survive referendum

Switzerland’s voters appear ready to support a plan that would restrict online gambling to sites operated by local land-based casinos, while blocking the domains of other operators.

A recent GfS Bern survey of 1,201 Swiss adults found that 52% of respondents plan to vote in favor of the country’s new gambling law when a national referendum is conducted on June 10. Around 39% intend to vote ‘no’ while a mere 9% remain undecided.

Swiss legislators voted last October to approve the new gambling law, which requires would-be online gambling operators to partner with local brick-and-mortar casino operators. Swiss internet service providers would be required to block the domains of internationally licensed online operators that continue to serve Swiss gamblers without local authorization.

However, the youth wing of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) managed to garner enough petition signatures to force a national referendum on the legislation. Local telecom firms and civil libertarians have joined the campaign to strike down the law but it appears that their efforts are coming up short with Swiss voters.