Gambling Percentage in Switzerland Falls According to Research by Comlot and ESBK

Gambling activity has plummeted yet again as the average number of frequent gamblers in Switzerland declines again.

A research commissioned by the Inter-Cantonal Lotteries and Betting Commission (Comlot) and the Eidgenossiche Speilbankonkommission (ESBK) reports that just 16.4% of the respondents engaged in gambling activities at least once a month.

18,832 respondents were included into the study out of which 16.5% said that they took part in at least one form of gambling each month as opposed to the 16.9% in 2012 and the 18.0% in 2007.

As far as spending goes, players who said they engaged in gambling activities spent less than CHF 10 a month and 39% said they wagered between CHF 10 and CHF 99.

48.2% of frequent players said they engaged in lottery games, making lotteries the most popular form of gambling. Right behind lotteries is the raffle and private games with 14.3%, followed by table games with 6.7%, slot machines with 6.7%, gambling halls on 5.7% and Swiss sports betting with 4.5%.

Gambling Risk

When it comes to developing problems with gambling, less than two thirds of the respondents said that they were at low risk of doing that, or no risk at all whatsoever.

However, land-based casinos in Switzerland reported annual revenue increase of 3.4% in July 2019, thanks to the launch of online gambling markets and the slot segment.

According to the ISGF, 0.2% of respondents were at risk of pathological gambling behavior, with the majority in these 0.2% (22.1%) developing problems by playing games supplied by international online providers. Also, the report stated that only a small proportion of respondents reported problems at work or their relations with family or friends because of playing these games.

Also, Switzerland has undergone some changes in their Gambling laws in 2019, ing the new gambling legislation called ‘the Swiss Gaming Act’ which regulated the licensed online gambling space and worked on banning foreign operators.

Source:

“Gambling in Switzerland Continues to Decline”, Niji Narayan, europeangaming.eu, October 10, 2019.