The Swiss Lottery and Betting Board published on Tuesday the blacklist of foreign online gambling operators that will have their domains blocked by local Internet service providers as they are not authorized to provide services to Swiss gambling customers.
The publication of the blacklist is part of the reorganization of the Swiss gambling market. The process began on January 1, 2019 when the country’s new gambling law took effect.
Under this new law, only the nation’s brick-and-mortar casinos are permitted to provide online gambling services on the territory of Switzerland. The country’s first legal online casinos went live in early July.
A Controversial Provision
Under the new Swiss gambling law, local regulators are now authorized to order Internet service providers to block the domains of unauthorized online gambling operators in order to prevent them from target local players.
The DNS (domain name server) block provision in the new law caused quite the controversy last year with opponents of the measure criticizing the government and claiming that it was looking to implement unnecessary censorship.
Backlash over the controversial provision eventually resulted in a nationwide referendum that invited voters to cast their votes on whether the new gambling act should include the DNS block measure.
About 73% of Swiss voters approved the gambling overhaul including the proposed blocking of unauthorized operations. The measure aims to prevent Swiss gambling customers from wagering money with companies that do not hold licenses issued by local regulators as such companies do not pay taxes and local authorities cannot interfere in instances of disputes between them and their customers.
The Blacklist
The Swiss gaming and betting regulator posted the blacklist this past Tuesday. The list currently includes 60 domains of unauthorized operators, but it will certainly be updated and expanded in future.
The 60 domains will now be blocked by local Internet service providers. Only companies that have kept on servicing local players after the enforcement of the new Swiss gambling law will have their domains blocked. Operators that have withdrawn their services after the new regulatory regime took effect will not have their domains blocked by telecommunications providers, it has also become known.
As mentioned earlier, Switzerland’s new gambling law took effect on January 1 this year, but it was not until early July when the country’s first regulated online casinos were launched. And it was not until August when Swiss authorities began their work on blocking unauthorized operations.
The blacklist currently includes 60 domains, including ones associated with major gambling operators bet365, Betclic, and Kindred Group, among others. Russian gambling operator 1xBet is, too, among those to be blacklisted in Switzerland. The company recently landed in hot water in the UK and had to suspend its local operation, while the UK Gambling Commission is investigating allegations leveled against it that suggested it was involved in controversial and probably illegal advertising practices.
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