Switzerland awards Interlaken an online casino licence

The gaming regulator in Switzerland cleared local operator Interlaken to operate an online casino in the country.

Switzerland.- The iGaming industry continues to grow and regulated markets thrive on it. That’s why Switzerland awarded Interlaken an online casino licence to operate in the country.

The company had actually achieved a permit back in 2019, but the country’s Federal Council had to approve it.

Gambling popularity down

The average number of users who play games of chance in Switzerland has declined. According to a study by the Interkantonalen Lotterie- und Wettkommission (Comlot) and the local regulator ESBK, the popularity of gambling has decreased in recent years in Switzerland.

The survey, which was prepared by the Swiss Institute for Drug and Health Research (ISGF) and submitted on behalf of the two regulators, shows that only 16.4% of the respondents play games of chance more than once a month.

Over 18k people participated in the study, which indicated a 0.5% decline in participation from 2017 and 1.6% from 2007. Around 69% of them stated that they had previously participated in a type of gambling at least once. However, the numbers also indicate a decline in interest in gambling. In 2012 the indicator was 70.6% or 5 million people, Soaktuell reported.

Lotteries (48.2%) were identified as the most popular type of gambling in Switzerland. Various raffles are in second place (14.3%). The Swiss are also interested in board games (6.7%), slots (6.7%) and sports betting (4.5%).