A Swiss Welcome for Online Casinos
The online casino gambling industry in Switzerland was once only the stuff of
dreams, but now the Swiss government has begun to make the moves necessary to
open up the Swiss market for foreign internet gambling and betting. This is a
huge step forward in the Western European gambling market; the European
Commission has been avidly in negotiations with a dozen or so nations because of
their unfair trade blocks on online casinos. With changes in the works the
internet gambling policy in Switzerland could greatly increase the safety of
gambling in the country. Namely, the previous blocks and bans were incredibly
ineffective and the Swiss government was wise enough to recognize that there are
better approaches to the internet gambling industry.
That means that regulation is coming to the online casino gambling industry –
and on a individualized level. Instead of national regulations banning internet
gambling, the government announced that the nation’s cantons will each have the
right to regulate and operate internet gambling as they see fit. Foreign online
casinos will now interact on a more personal level with the Swiss states and the
government hopes that this more individualized level of regulation of the
industry will provide more controls and safeties.
The pressure from the outside is really one of the key factors that forced the
Swiss government to reconsider its ineffective online casino gambling policies.
Like the US, the Swiss government just could not find a scaleable and effective
way to block the internet gambling companies. So, unlike the US, the government
identified the issues and sought an immediate solution – the full liberalization
of the Swiss online gambling market. The new Swiss laws will specifically
include measures aimed at controlling and protecting the nation’s internet
casino market while still staying in line with practical policies that allow
foreign competition. |