Swiss gambling regulator Eidgenössischen Spielbankenkommission (ESBK) has reported a 5.5% year-on-year rise in casino revenue for 2019, while the country’s online gaming licensees generated CHF23.5m following the launch of igaming from July that year.Total revenue from Switzerland’s 21 casinos amounted to CHF742.5m (£629.8m/€698.4m/$784.4m), of which category A licensees (larger venues in urban areas) contributed CHF449.0m, up 5.3%.
Category B licensees, comprising casinos in resort towns and smaller municipalities, generated revenue of CHF293.5m, up 5.9%.
Across both licence categories, slots accounted for CHF613.2m of revenue, up 8.0%, while table games’ contribution declined 5.4% to CHF129.3m. Tax take for the year rose 7.3% to CHF356.7m.
In 2019, four land-based licensees launched an igaming offering, beginning with Grand Casino Baden’s Jackpots.ch on 5 July.
Grand Casino Luzern (MyCasino.ch); Casino Pfaffikon Zurichsee (SwissCasinos.ch); and Casino Davos (Casino777.ch) followed before the end of 2019, with Grand Casino Kursaal Bern and Casino Interloken also securing licences from ESBK.
Grand Casino Luzern’s Paf-powered MyCasino accounted for the majority of revenue, contributing CHF8.9m of the total. Next was Casino Pfaffikon Zurichsee’s Playtech-powered offering, with revenue reaching CHF6.9m following its launch on 2 September.
Grand Casino Baden, which acquired a 50% stake in platform provider Gamanza as part of its launch plans, followed in third with CHF6.3m in revenue. Casino Davos, a venue jointly owned by Stadtcasino Baden Group and Belgium’s Ardent Group, came in fourth with CHF1.3m.
The quartet paid CHF7.5m to the Swiss state in gaming taxes.
The passage of igaming legislation in January 2019, and its implementation from July that year, saw ESBK step up enforcement activity against unlicensed providers. This was done through a working group with lottery regulatory authority, the Inter-Cantonal Lotteries and Betting Commission (Comlot), telecommunications bodies Association Suisse des Télécommunications (Asut) and Suisse Digital to develop blocking measures.
It led to the publication of ESBK’s blacklist of unlicensed operators in September that year, with 110 domain names listed for blocking by the country’s internet service providers by the end of 2019.
Earlier this week Comlot revealed that revenue from gambling organised by Swiss lotteries amounted to CHF1.01bn in 2019, aided by an expanded range of online products such as sports betting. This, Comlot said, helped reduce market share for offshore competitors.
