Switzerland Gambling Referendum: ‘Yes’ Polling Spells Bad News For Online Operators

Despite mature, regulated gambling markets across Europe, there are still some countries where the battle for liberal online gambling has yet to be won. In most cases, this is authorities seeking to uphold existing restrictions against gambling, versus those lobbying for a more level-headed approach that offers consumers the services they are looking for.

In Switzerland however, it appears that the reverse is in full swing, with the government enacting stricter laws that would prevent international operators, and restrict access to the Swiss online market exclusively to those already operating physical casinos within their jurisdiction.

The decision to change the law was made towards the end of last year, when lawmakers voted to give their approval to the new measures. These include restrictions on Swiss ISPs, who will be required to block the domains of any international operators within Switzerland, as part of the raft of measures introduced to deny Swiss citizens access to international gambling sites.

Young activists under the banner of the Free Democratic Party have led the fightback, and managed to generate enough signatures on a petition to put the law to a referendum, effectively providing one last chance for the people of Switzerland to avoid an illiberal fate. However, according to new polling data out this week, it looks as though this is a battle they could be losing.

According to a poll of 1201 Swiss citizens conducted by GfS Bern, as many as 52% of respondents said they would vote ‘Yes’ in the referendum, effectively sealing the deal for the government’s restrictive approach. Only 39% of respondents came out for ‘No’, with a further 9% still on the fence or undecided.

The dispute has grown into a bitter battle between rival political factions, with accusations of offers from both Swiss casinos and international operators in apparent attempts to curry favour and influence the direction of the political debate. Pollsters have attributed the weak showing in the polls for the ‘No’ campaign to tactics that have focused too heavily on accusations of government censorship, which seem to be having limited cut through with the wider electorate.

The ‘Yes’ campaign is thought to be polling well amongst women, as well as older generations – particularly in the French and Italian speaking parts of the country. On the converse, the ‘No’ campaign is being more disproportionately supported by the young and by men – interesting, given the traditional demographics of online gamblers.

Most worryingly, critics of the proposals point to a lack of measures to support problem gambling, a policy position that has gained political support across a number of opposition parties. Yet with the matter now likely to be finalised by the public vote, and conservative opinion currently overriding liberalism, it looks unlikely there will be any further measures introduced to tackle these deficiencies in the approach.

This looks like a classic case of the majority imposing their concept of morality on a minority, freezing out their personal freedoms and consumer choice in the process. By denying ordinary Swiss citizens their own agency to choose how and where they spend their free time gambling, the government is attempting to set a dangerous precedent for limiting freedom and censoring online content to personal taste.

As if so often the case in issues like these, those least affected by the proposed legislation changes are in vocal support, relative to the comparatively smaller number of people who see their personal interests directly affected. From there, only those with a particular political impetus to push for freedom and liberty are taking the charge to the government, and it was always going to be a difficult struggle.

While it seems bad news for the ‘No’ campaign on current polling, there is still time ahead of the referendum for their positions to narrow. International operators will no doubt be hoping cooler heads prevail, although on current projections, it’s looking unlikely.