Gambling ban
Casino-imposed gambling ban
Casinos can impose a gambling ban if they know or have reason to believe, based on their own observations or reports from third parties, that a person:
- is heavily in debt;
- is unable to meet their financial obligations; or
- is placing bets that are disproportionate to their income and assets.
Casinos can also ban individuals from gambling if they have reason to believe, based on a report from a specialist agency or social services authority, that the person is addicted to gambling.
Self-imposed ban
Players have the option of having themselves banned from gambling at any time. They can ask a casino to ban them, either in person or by submitting a request in writing, enclosing a copy of a valid ID document.
Reports from third parties
Family members, friends, work colleagues and other third parties who are concerned about a person's gambling behaviour can contact the casino to report any gambling-related changes in the person's behaviour or financial situation. If the person meets the criteria for exclusion, the casino will impose a gambling ban.
Points to note regarding a gambling ban
Gambling operators who impose a gambling ban on a player must enter the player's name in a central register. Once entered in the register, the ban applies throughout Switzerland and, since 7 January 2025, the Principality of Liechtenstein. Players who are subject to a gambling ban are excluded from all land-based and online casino games and from large-scale online games such as SwissLos and EuroMillions.
The FGB does not have access to this register and cannot see who is banned.
Lifting of a gambling ban
A gambling ban is not limited in time.
A casino must lift a casino-imposed gambling ban if there is no longer any reason for the ban. Self-imposed bans can only be lifted three months after they are registered.
In order for a ban to be lifted, the person who was banned must submit an application either to the casino that imposed the ban or to the casino where the person requested the ban. The FGB does not accept applications to have gambling bans lifted and cannot lift individual gambling bans.
Legal recourse
Anyone who disagrees with a casino's decision to impose or not to lift a gambling ban may take legal action through a civil court. The FGB is not an arbitration authority in the event of disputes between casinos and players.
Number of gambling bans in Switzerland
The graph shows that the number of gambling bans has risen steadily since casinos opened in 2002 and 2003. There has been a marked increase in particular since 1 January 2019, when the Federal Gambling Act (FGA) came into force. This permitted land-based casinos to offer online gambling activities through an extension to their licence.
In 2024, 18,216 new gambling bans were registered, which is an increase of 23% compared to 2023 (14,787). Most of these gambling bans were imposed in relation to online gambling activities. Around 40% of all bans (7,480 bans) were self-imposed, i.e. the player asked to be banned from gambling. Around 50% (9,200 bans) were imposed because the player failed to provide the casino with evidence that they could afford their gambiling habit – 3,200 more than in 2023. In particular, young players were banned from gambling: the number of people aged 18 to 30 who were banned increased by 35% compared to the previous year.
The FGB publishes the number of newly banned players each year. This data comes from the register of bans maintained by Swiss casinos, which report key statistics to the FGB. The FGB does not have access to the register itself.
The following Swiss casinos currently offer online casino games.