Legal casino gambling age in LiechtensteinThe Principality of Liechtenstein regulates gambling through a licensing model for land-based casinos and a concession model for online gambling, under the Gaming Act (Geldspielgesetz, GSG) of 30 June 2010. A licensing model, in this sense, is one in which any company that meets the statutory conditions may obtain a permit, rather than the state reserving the market to one operator. Since a 2016 amendment, casino permits have been issued as police permits (Polizeibewilligungen), which the applicant is entitled to once the legal criteria are met. Online gambling is permitted in principle but requires a government concession, and the government has issued none: a moratorium on online concessions runs until the end of 2028. Supervision lies with the Office of Economic Affairs (Amt für Volkswirtschaft, AVW).
Key points
- The Gaming Act (GSG) of 30 June 2010, LGBl. 2010 No. 235, entered into force on 1 January 2011. A 2016 amendment, in force from 1 October 2016, replaced the original single-concession model with police permits for casinos.
- The AVW gambling register lists four casino companies with active permits as of October 2026: Casinos Austria Liechtenstein AG, Club Admiral Aktiengesellschaft, Grand Casino LI AG and Alpin Royal AG. Five other permits are recorded as cancelled.
- On 29 January 2023 voters rejected a popular initiative to ban casinos, with about 73% voting no. A temporary freeze on processing new casino applications applied from November 2022 until 31 December 2025 and was not renewed.
- Online gambling requires a government concession under Article 60 GSG. On 12 December 2023 the government extended its moratorium on online gambling concessions until the end of 2028, so no lawful Liechtenstein-licensed online casino exists.
- A bilateral agreement with Switzerland on exchanging data about excluded players took effect on 7 January 2025. Casinos in Liechtenstein must now refuse around 100,000 people barred in Switzerland, and gross gaming revenue fell by more than half in 2025.
Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.
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Historical development
Before 2010 Liechtenstein had no casinos. According to a ISA-Guide special report, the principality had long maintained a prohibition, linked in part to its customs union with Switzerland, and pressure for change grew after Switzerland liberalised its own casino market in the early 2000s. The Landtag (parliament) passed the Gaming Act at second reading on 30 June 2010, and it entered into force on 1 January 2011, according to the legislative history compiled by the IG VolksMeinung campaign group and the version history on the official Lilex legislation portal.
The 2010 Act allowed only a single casino concession, awarded by the government. In 2012 the government awarded the concession to a project in Vaduz. A rival bidder, Casino Admiral AG, challenged the award, and the litigation lasted until 2014, when the Constitutional Court (Staatsgerichtshof) brought the dispute to an end (Republik, 30 July 2022; ISA-Guide).
The government then changed the model. In 2015 it proposed replacing the concession with a police permit, and the Landtag adopted the amendment on 7 April 2016 by 20 votes of 24 (IG VolksMeinung chronology). The amendment took effect on 1 October 2016. A police permit is a non-discretionary authorisation: an applicant who satisfies the statutory conditions has a legal claim to it.
The first casino, Casino Admiral in Ruggell, opened in August 2017 (Liechtensteiner Vaterland). Casinos Austria’s Casino Schaanwald followed in October 2017, Club Admiral in Triesen in November 2019, Grand Casino in Bendern in December 2019 and Casino 96 in Balzers in September 2020 (ISA-Guide). By mid-2022, according to Republik, one casino had already closed, five were operating and three more applications were pending, in a country of about 40,000 inhabitants. About two thirds of visitors came from Switzerland, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
The 2023 referendum on a casino ban
The citizens’ group IG VolksMeinung launched a popular initiative for a constitutional amendment that would have prohibited casinos and required existing ones to close within five years (Swiss Federalism). The Landtag rejected the initiative, which sent it to a popular vote. On 29 January 2023 voters rejected it by 10,383 votes to 3,779, or 73.32% against, on a turnout of 68.87% (figures as compiled by Wikipedia, used here as a pointer and consistent with SRF, which reported 73% against). It failed in all eleven municipalities (Swiss Federalism).
Legal framework
The Gaming Act and its ordinances
The principal statute is the Gaming Act of 30 June 2010 (Geldspielgesetz, GSG), LGBl. 2010 No. 235, LR 935.51. The Act covers casino games, lotteries, bets and online games. Under Article 2, its purposes are to ensure safe, orderly and transparent gaming, to prevent money laundering, organised crime and terrorist financing, and to prevent the socially harmful effects of gambling. The provisions most relevant to this guide are:
- Article 8: anyone wishing to operate a casino needs a permit from the Office of Economic Affairs.
- Articles 9a and 9b: a casino must be a public limited company (Aktiengesellschaft) or a European company, with paid-up share capital of at least CHF 5 million.
- Article 22: persons under 18, persons subject to a gambling ban and certain officials may not play.
- Article 23: casinos must ban players who are over-indebted, fail to meet their financial obligations or stake amounts disproportionate to their income and assets; players may also request a ban themselves.
- Article 33: casinos may not advertise in an intrusive or misleading way.
- Article 60: anyone who organises online gambling commercially or publicly needs a concession from the government. There is no legal entitlement to a concession, and the government may limit the number.
- Article 73: the state levies a gaming tax (Geldspielabgabe) on gross gaming revenue, within ranges fixed by the Act.
Detailed rules are set by government ordinances. The Casino Ordinance (Spielbankenverordnung, SPBV) of 21 December 2010 governs casino operations, including the social concept, exclusion registers, advertising, free-play credits, opening hours and gaming equipment. The AVW also lists an Online Gambling Ordinance (Online-Geldspielverordnung). Anti-money-laundering obligations arise under the Due Diligence Act (Sorgfaltspflichtgesetz), compliance with which the Financial Market Authority supervises, according to law firm Frick & Partner.
Criminal provisions
In the original 2010 text, Article 88 made it an offence, punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of up to 360 daily rates, to organise, operate, broker, distribute, host or advertise a game of chance, or otherwise promote it commercially, without the necessary concession or permit. Article 89 listed lesser contraventions, including intrusive or misleading advertising, with fines of up to CHF 250,000. We were unable to extract the penal provisions from the current consolidated PDF, so readers should check the present article numbering and wording on the official portal.
EEA context
Liechtenstein is one of the three EEA EFTA states, together with Iceland and Norway, and the EEA Agreement extends the EU internal-market freedoms, including the freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment, to it. Gambling is not harmonised at EEA level, so national restrictions are lawful only if they pursue legitimate public-interest aims and are suitable, consistent and proportionate. The EFTA Court applied that test to gambling in Case E-3/06, Ladbrokes v Norway (judgment of 30 May 2007).
Regulator and licensing model
The Office of Economic Affairs (Amt für Volkswirtschaft, AVW) grants casino permits, supervises casinos, assesses the gaming tax and keeps the gambling register. The government itself grants online gambling concessions under Article 60 GSG. According to Frick & Partner, the Financial Market Authority (FMA) supervises compliance with anti-money-laundering rules.
Casino permits
Casino permits are police permits. An applicant that meets the conditions of the Act has a right to a permit, and the Act sets no fixed limit on the number of casinos. Beyond the corporate form and capital rules, Frick & Partner lists disclosure of beneficial owners from 5%, an ongoing equity requirement, an electronic accounting and control system and a social concept.
Because permits could not be refused to a qualifying applicant, the only way to halt growth was by law. The Landtag adopted a law of 4 November 2022 on temporary emergency measures in the casino market, by 13 votes of 25 according to ISA-Guide. It suspended the processing of applications for casino permits until 31 December 2025 (AVW casino page); according to ISA-Guide, three applications already under review were not affected. On 10 March 2026 the Liechtensteiner Vaterland reported that the moratorium had expired and that the government saw no reason to extend it because its aim had been achieved, although new casinos were not expected soon.
Licensed casinos
In October 2026 the AVW gambling register listed four companies with active casino permits: Casinos Austria Liechtenstein AG, Club Admiral Aktiengesellschaft, Grand Casino LI AG and Alpin Royal AG. It listed cancelled permits for Casino Admiral Aktiengesellschaft, LIE2 AG, MCL-Resorts AG, BestWin AG and LV Investments AG. Casino Admiral in Ruggell, the first casino in the country, closed on 30 September 2025 (Liechtensteiner Vaterland). A parliamentary question described it as the sixth casino closure in just over three years (Kleine Anfrage, answered by the government on 5 September 2025). Trade publication iGaming Expert reported in July 2026 that the LV casino in Eschen closed in January 2026 and named the four remaining venues as Grand Casino Liechtenstein, Casino Schaanwald, Casino Admiral Triesen and Alpin Royal Casino.
Online gambling: what is permitted and how it is enforced
The Gaming Act allows online gambling in principle. Under Article 60 GSG, anyone who commercially or publicly organises online games of chance needs a concession from the government. Unlike a casino permit, an online concession is discretionary: there is no legal entitlement to one and the government may limit their number by ordinance. On the text of the Act we reviewed, online concessions are not reserved to holders of land-based casino permits, but in practice no operator of either kind holds one.
The reason is a government moratorium. At its meeting on 12 December 2023 the government extended the existing moratorium on online gambling concessions until the end of 2028 (Liechtenstein National Administration; AVW online gambling page). According to Vatican News (16 December 2023), the government cited the growth of land-based gambling, the Swiss online market and cross-border player protection. Law firm Frick & Partner summarised the position at the end of 2025 as one in which no lawful online gambling exists in Liechtenstein.
Offshore operators and enforcement
Offering online gambling to the public in Liechtenstein without a concession falls under the offence of organising or promoting a game of chance without the necessary authorisation, which in the original Act also covered advertising for such games. We found no provision in the Gaming Act requiring internet service providers to block unlicensed gambling websites, no published blocklist and no rule on payment blocking. Nor did we find reported prosecutions of foreign online operators.
Advertising
Advertising rules in the Act are framed for licensed casinos. Article 33 GSG prohibits intrusive or misleading advertising. Article 62a of the Casino Ordinance specifies, among other things, that advertising may not suggest that success depends on knowledge, skill or dexterity or that gambling can solve financial problems, and treats telemarketing and location-based mobile notifications as intrusive.
Position of players
The Gaming Act is directed at operators. In the original 2010 text, the offences in Articles 88 and 89 apply to those who organise, operate, broker or advertise unauthorised games, or who breach operating rules. We found no provision making it an offence for an individual to take part in an unauthorised game, and no reported prosecution or fine of a player in Liechtenstein. Offshore sites nonetheless remain unauthorised, and Liechtenstein’s player-protection rules do not apply to them.
Inside casinos, Article 22 GSG bars persons under 18, persons subject to a gambling ban and certain officials. Casinos must check identity using official documents before admission (Casino Ordinance, Article 40).
Taxation
Gaming tax on operators
Article 73 of the Gaming Act imposes the gaming tax (Geldspielabgabe) on gross gaming revenue (GGR), meaning stakes received minus winnings paid out. The ranges set by the Act are:
| Type of game | Gaming tax range (Art. 73(2) GSG) |
|---|---|
| Casinos | 17.5% to 40% of GGR, progressive |
| Lotteries and bets | 10% to 20% of GGR, may vary by type of game |
| Online gambling | 5% to 12.5% of GGR, may vary by type of game |
Tombolas, skill games and certain small organisers are exempt. The government fixes the individual rates by ordinance within these ranges, taking into account that operators must remain internationally competitive and earn a reasonable return on capital. We were unable to retrieve the current ordinance scale. The casino industry stated in January 2025 that large casinos paid around 40% and small casinos around 35% (Radio Liechtenstein).
In November 2022 the government proposed raising the minimum casino rate from 17.5% to 27.5% (Liechtensteiner Vaterland). The increase was not enacted: the consolidated Act in force in 2026 still sets a 17.5% minimum, and on 2 June 2026 the government said the planned increase had been abandoned because no further restrictive measures were needed (government press release).
Gaming tax receipts have been significant for a small state. Public revenue from the levy was about CHF 27 million in 2020, according to Republik, and more than CHF 50 million in 2023, according to industry figures reported by Radio Liechtenstein. iGaming Expert reported that the levy fell from CHF 52.8 million in 2024 to CHF 20.3 million in 2025.
Players’ winnings
Under Article 14(2)(g) of the Tax Act (Steuergesetz, SteG) of 23 September 2010, income from games of chance is part of taxable income (Erwerbssteuer) unless a gaming tax under the Gaming Act or a foreign tax has already been levied on it. On this wording, winnings from licensed Liechtenstein casinos, whose revenue is subject to the Geldspielabgabe, are not taxed again in the player’s hands. Winnings from unlicensed sources on which no gaming tax or foreign tax has been charged are, on the wording of the provision, taxable income.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Player protection rests on three elements: the minimum age of 18, gambling bans and a mandatory social concept. Under Article 23 GSG and the AVW player-protection guidance, a casino must ban a player if it knows or has reason to believe that the player is over-indebted or failing to meet financial obligations, or is staking amounts disproportionate to income and assets. Players may also apply to a casino to be banned. Under Article 58 of the Casino Ordinance, a casino must notify every ban to all other domestic casinos and online operators, which must treat it as their own; it may also notify foreign casinos that grant reciprocity. Articles 54 to 57 require each casino to operate a social concept covering early detection, staff training and cooperation with counselling bodies, and to report annually on its prevention measures.
Recognition of Swiss exclusions
Switzerland and Liechtenstein signed an agreement on the exchange of data on banned players on 20 October 2022. It was published as LGBl. 2024 No. 406 and entered into force on 7 January 2025. Casino operators in both countries must exchange data on banned persons and recognise each other’s bans. According to the Swiss casino operator Swiss Casinos, around 100,000 people had been banned in Switzerland since its casinos opened, and those bans now also apply in all Liechtenstein casinos. In Switzerland bans cover land-based casinos, licensed online casinos and the online games of the Swiss lotteries (Federal Gaming Board, ESBK). Under the Swiss system, players can request a self-exclusion at any casino in person or in writing with a copy of an identity document.
We did not find an official Liechtenstein gambling helpline. Players with gambling problems can request a ban from any licensed casino, and casinos must cooperate with counselling bodies as part of their social concept. General guidance on safer gambling is also available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Casino crisis, 2025 to 2026. After the Swiss exclusions took effect, casino GGR in the first half of 2025 fell by 58.13% compared with the first half of 2024, and gaming tax receipts by 58.51% (government answer of 5 September 2025). iGaming Expert reported full-year GGR of CHF 57.3 million in 2025, against CHF 140.8 million in 2024.
- Casino Ordinance relaxations, November 2025. On 7 October 2025 the government amended the Casino Ordinance with effect from 1 November 2025. It removed the 1.5%-of-GGR cap on free-play credits, keeping the CHF 200 daily limit per player, and eased table-game and accounting rules (government press release).
- Casino permit moratorium lapsed. The freeze on processing new casino applications ended on 31 December 2025 and was not extended (Liechtensteiner Vaterland, 10 March 2026).
- Gaming Act revision, 2026. On 2 June 2026 the government opened consultation on amendments to the Gaming Act and related laws to implement the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (Macolin Convention), which Liechtenstein signed in November 2019. The consultation closed on 28 August 2026. The planned increase in the gaming tax was dropped (government press release). As of October 2026 we found no bill submitted to the Landtag.
- Online moratorium. No online gambling concessions will be issued before the end of 2028 unless the government changes its decision (Liechtenstein National Administration).
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The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database and do not show that an operator is licensed in Liechtenstein. No online gambling concession has been issued in Liechtenstein, and offering online casino games to the public there without one is prohibited, so the listings must not be read as an indication that any online casino is authorised in Liechtenstein. Licensed land-based casinos can be checked in the AVW gambling register.
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Sources and further reading
- Liechtenstein Government, Gaming Act of 30 June 2010 (Geldspielgesetz, GSG), LGBl. 2010 No. 235, consolidated versions (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Liechtenstein Government, Geldspielgesetz, consolidated text as at 1 January 2026 (PDF) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Liechtenstein Government, Geldspielgesetz, original text, LGBl. 2010 No. 235 (PDF) (2010).
- Liechtenstein Government, Casino Ordinance (Spielbankenverordnung, SPBV), consolidated text as at 1 June 2026 (PDF) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Liechtenstein Government, Tax Act of 23 September 2010 (Steuergesetz, SteG), LGBl. 2010 No. 340 (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Office of Economic Affairs (AVW), Gambling register (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Office of Economic Affairs (AVW), Casinos (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Office of Economic Affairs (AVW), Online gambling (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Office of Economic Affairs (AVW), Player protection and gambling bans (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Liechtenstein National Administration, Moratorium für Online-Geldspiele wird verlängert (2023).
- Principality of Liechtenstein, Abkommen mit der Schweiz über den Austausch von Spielsperren tritt in Kraft (2024).
- Principality of Liechtenstein, Regierung beschliesst Abänderung der Spielbankenverordnung (2025).
- Principality of Liechtenstein, Regierung bringt Umsetzung der Magglinger Konvention auf den Weg (2026).
- Landtag of Liechtenstein, Kleine Anfrage: Casino-Situation (Johannes Kaiser), with government answer (2025).
- Swiss Federal Gaming Board (ESBK), Spielsperre (accessed 6 October 2026).
- EFTA, The EEA Agreement (accessed 6 October 2026).
- EFTA Court, Case E-3/06, Ladbrokes Ltd v Norway (2007).
- Frick & Partner, Liechtenstein as a Regulatory Venue: 5 Practical Facts on Gambling Law (2025).
- Republik, Casino royal (2022).
- ISA-Guide, Spezial-Report über den Casino-Standort Liechtenstein (accessed 6 October 2026).
- ISA-Guide, Liechtensteiner Landtag stimmt dem Casino-Moratorium zu (2022).
- IG VolksMeinung, Spielbankengesetz 2010 (legislative chronology) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- SRF, Nach dem Nein zu Casino-Verbot: Schweizer Casino-Sperren sollen auch in Liechtenstein gelten (2023).
- Swiss Federalism, People of Liechtenstein reject casino ban with clear NO vote (2023).
- Liechtensteiner Vaterland, Regierung schränkt Gratisspieleinsätze ein (2022).
- Liechtensteiner Vaterland, Rund 100’000 Schweizer Spielsperren gelten jetzt auch in Liechtensteins Casinos (2025).
- Liechtensteiner Vaterland, Schliessung in Ruggell: Das älteste Casino im Land kapituliert (2025).
- Liechtensteiner Vaterland, Casino-Moratorium im Land ist ausgelaufen (2026).
- Swiss Casinos, Schweizer Spielsperren ab 2025 neu in Liechtenstein (2025).
- Radio Liechtenstein, 85 Prozent Umsatzeinbussen in den Casinos (2025).
- Vatican News, Liechtenstein: Moratorium für Online-Geldspiele wird verlängert (2023).
- iGaming Expert, Liechtenstein casinos in shock of Swiss blockade (2026).
- Wikipedia, 2023 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum (accessed 6 October 2026; used as a pointer only).
