How the bans came about
Of the 76 bans at Swisslos, 45 were asked for by the players themselves. Another 19 followed a check of a player's finances, and 12 came after a report from a specialist service. At Loterie Romande, known as LoRo, the split was 49, 15 and 1.[1] The chart below sets each company's total beside its total for 2024.
A ban goes on a register that casinos and lottery companies keep together. It shuts the person out of every casino game, of lottery and betting games played online, and of other games that Gespa rates as dangerous.[2] The law requires a ban for a player who is deep in debt, or whose stakes are far out of line with what they earn and own.[1]
Two companies and their regulator
Swisslos works for the German-speaking cantons and the canton of Ticino.[3] LoRo holds the lottery monopoly in the French-speaking west.[4]
Under Switzerland's gambling rules, lotteries and sports betting are a matter for the cantons, the country's regional governments. The large games, such as those run across cantons or online, are supervised by a body the cantons share, while casinos have a federal regulator, the ESBK.[2] The shared body is Gespa.[1][5]
Each year both companies must report to Gespa on how well their safeguards work, and Gespa writes its own assessment.[5] The one for 2025 is dated 3 September 2026.[1] Gespa put it online in November, in German.[6]
Early warnings online
Both companies watch online accounts for signs of trouble. At Swisslos this monitoring picked out 3,048 people in 2025, or 0.47% of active users, down from 3,776 in 2024. The checks on Sporttip, its sports betting product, set off 2,603 automatic alerts, far more than those on any other product. Of the 3,048, 31 ended up banned.[1]
One of LoRo's warning thresholds is a net loss of CHF 2,000 a month across all games, three months in a row. In 2025 it contacted 220 players by phone or email after they crossed a threshold, 0.12% of its active players. A year earlier there were 228.[1]
Losing more than CHF 2,000 in a month
Gespa also counts online players whose net loss passed CHF 2,000 in at least one month. At Swisslos there were 3,467 of them in 2025, or 0.53% of active players, up from 3,263, or 0.46%. At LoRo there were 969, or 0.54%, against 923, or 0.53%.[1]
Online play brought in 24% of the two companies' gross gaming revenue, the money kept after prizes are paid, and shops the other 76%.[1]
Sports betting and young adults
"Sports betting is still the product from which the greatest risks come," the report says. Players lose more on it than on the other products.[1]
On Sporttip, a monthly loss limit can be set no higher than CHF 9,999. In March 2026 Swisslos cut that ceiling to CHF 1,000 for players aged 18 to 21. Gespa welcomes the change.[1]
Taking a break
Short of a ban, players can shut themselves out for a while. Nearly 5,000 did so in 2025: 3,673 at Swisslos and 1,124 at LoRo. The Gambling Ordinance limits such a voluntary break to six months. Gespa regrets that, as some people want to stay away longer.[1]
Minors in the shops
In July Gespa published the results of 200 test purchases it had ordered at LoRo outlets in the canton of Vaud and Swisslos outlets in the canton of Zurich. Minors managed to place a sports bet 47.5% of the time, and 66.7% of the time at self-service terminals. Gespa called the results unsatisfactory, while noting that the sample was small and not representative.[7]
The new report says the companies must apply youth protection consistently, and Gespa will order new test purchases soon.[1]
Sources
- Gespa (Switzerland) — Auswertungsbericht: Wirksamkeit der Massnahmen zum Schutz der Spielenden vor exzessivem Geldspiel im Jahr 2025 (PDF, 3 September 2026, German). The bans and how they arose, the legal grounds for a ban, early detection, the players who lost more than CHF 2,000 in a month, the online share of revenue, the view on sports betting, the Sporttip limits, voluntary breaks and youth protection. Saved copy (the PDF as published, saved 3 November 2026).
- Federal Office of Justice (Switzerland) — Der rechtliche Rahmen der Geldspiele in der Schweiz (12 February 2026, German). The cantons' powers, the shared body for large games, the ESBK's role for casinos, and the joint register of banned players. Saved copy (screenshot, 3 November 2026).
- Wikipedia — Swisslos (German). The cantons Swisslos works for.
- Wikipedia — Loterie Romande (German). Its lottery monopoly in French-speaking Switzerland.
- Gespa (Switzerland) — Prevention of problem gambling (English). What Gespa supervises, and the yearly reports the two companies must send it. Saved copy (screenshot, 3 November 2026).
- Gespa (Switzerland) — Publications and surveys: News (English). The report's listing under November 2026, in German. Saved copy (screenshot, 3 November 2026).
- Gespa (Switzerland) — Schutz von Minderjährigen bei Sportwetten: Testkäufe zeigen unbefriedigende Ergebnisse (media release, PDF, 15 July 2026, German). The 200 test purchases and their results. Saved copy (the PDF as published, saved 3 November 2026).
