How to get a gambling licence in Switzerland: by tender

An online casino operator needs three things in order: a casino concession (A or B) from the Federal Council, an online extension of it (art. 9 BGS), and an ESBK approval for each casino game. There is no separate B2B or supplier licence.

• The number of concessions is fixed by the Federal Council. For 2025 to 2044 it set a maximum of 23, one per zone (10 type A, 13 type B). As of 1 October 2026, 21 are in force (10 A, 11 B).
• The online extension has no number cap: a concessionaire that meets the conditions has an entitlement, and ten casinos run online as of 6 November 2026.
• A concession lasts 20 years and the extension has the same term. A concession is not transferable (art. 14 BGS).
• The Federal Council's decision on a concession or an extension cannot be appealed (art. 11(1) BGS).
• The permit is territorial: it is valid only in Switzerland, and no foreign licence is recognised (art. 4 BGS).
• Online poker is part of the casino offer, under the same concession, extension and game approval.
• Lotteries and sports betting are not open. Large lotteries and sports betting are held by Swisslos (German-speaking cantons and Ticino) and the Loterie Romande (French-speaking cantons); at most two organisers are allowed (art. 49 GSK). Gespa also grants permits for skill games that are automated, intercantonal or online.

Laws that apply

• Bundesgesetz über Geldspiele (BGS, Federal Act on Money Games, SR 935.51)
• Verordnung über Geldspiele (VGS, Money Games Ordinance, SR 935.511)
• Spielbankenverordnung EJPD (SPBV-EJPD, SR 935.511.1)
• Geldwäschereigesetz (GwG) and GwV-ESBK (AML Act and ESBK AML Ordinance)
• Gesamtschweizerisches Geldspielkonkordat (GSK, intercantonal concordat for lotteries, sports betting and skill games)

A casino concession can be granted only to a stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft) under Swiss law whose share capital is divided into registered shares. A foreign company cannot apply itself and a branch is not an admissible applicant.

• An EU or EEA company has no special status. It can own shares in the Swiss company that applies. Persons with a seat or residence abroad supply equivalent foreign documents, including a list of foreign casino-licensing procedures of the last five years.
• Only a land casino concessionaire can obtain the online extension. A new entrant therefore has to win a concession in a tender first.
• The applicant, its main business partners, beneficial owners (at least 5% of capital or votes) and shareholders must have good repute and offer a guarantee of proper business conduct and independent management.
• Good repute must be met over the five years before filing and until the procedure ends. It is not met by a person that operated games in Switzerland without a permit, in particular by targeting the Swiss market from abroad, or that was on the blocklist for several months (art. 8 VGS).
• Shareholders and beneficial owners must show sufficient own funds and the lawful origin of their funds. The directors, board, management and lead auditor file criminal-record extracts, debt-enforcement extracts and tax returns of the last two years on request.
• No nationality or residence rule applies to directors, and no local-representative rule exists. The applicant must itself perform the core tasks: running and supervising the games, monitoring online play, managing customer accounts and player supervision, AML measures and the GGR accounts (art. 9 VGS).
• A land casino also needs a location in its assigned zone, in a canton and municipality that support a casino.
• No bank account in Switzerland is required by law.

There is no fixed application fee and no guarantee. The ESBK takes a cost advance and bills actual time, and the ESBK's tender instructions set a minimum of fully paid-in share capital. The recurring cost is the casino tax on gross gaming revenue.

• The capital is a requirement, not a fee. For a type B casino it is CHF 2 million plus CHF 3 million for the extension, so CHF 5 million. The figures come from the ESBK tender instructions for the 2022 round; the statutes set no figure.
• The cost advance is CHF 100,000 for a concession alone and CHF 150,000 where the online extension is applied for together with it. Actual processing costs are invoiced regardless of the outcome, less the advance, and the advance bears no interest.
• The ESBK charges by time at CHF 100-350 an hour, with a surcharge of up to 50% for urgent or out-of-hours work (art. 102 VGS).
• Not counted: the annual supervisory levy on budgeted GGR, the fees for each game approval, and the accredited body's certificates. The law does not set a price for the certificates.
• The casino tax is levied on gross gaming revenue, which is stakes minus lawfully paid winnings, and the online and land-based scales are separate. Online: 20% up to CHF 3 million of annual GGR, then a five-step scale up to a ceiling of 80% (art. 115 VGS). Land-based: 40% up to CHF 10 million, rising to 80% (art. 114 VGS).
• The tax may be cut by up to half in the first four operating years, set yearly by the Federal Council. Reductions for B casinos never apply to online games.
• The tax goes to the old-age insurance (AHV/IV). Money-game turnover is excluded from VAT where the GGR bears the casino tax. Federal profit tax is 8.5% of net profit. No advertising or sponsorship tax exists.
• Casino winnings are tax-free for players. Single winnings from online casino games are tax-free up to CHF 1,071,000 in 2026; the part above that is income and carries 35% withholding tax.

The ESBK receives the application and files it with the Federal Department of Justice and Police (EJPD) for the Federal Council with a recommendation. A concession can be applied for only in a tender; the online extension can be applied for during the whole term of the concession (art. 9 BGS).

• The 2022 tender ran from 1 June to 31 October 2022 for concessions starting 1 January 2025. The next general award falls outside the 2025-2044 period.
• The file is filed electronically (the signed form as PDF, annexes in Word or Excel) and on paper. The language is German, French or Italian; foreign-language annexes need a certified translation.
• The concession file holds the application form, company data, good-repute confirmations and self-declarations, a business plan with minimum data, property data, a report on economic benefit, a security concept, a social concept and measures for correct casino-tax assessment. The extension file adds the online business plan, online security and social concepts and tax-assessment measures for online GGR.
• The ESBK has the application published in the Federal Gazette and the official gazette of the canton of the location, and invites the interested circles to comment.
• The business plan must show plausible average annual GGR over the first five years of more than CHF 30 million (type A) or more than CHF 10 million (type B) from land-based games. Otherwise the application will probably be refused.
• No statutory deadline applies; the ESBK must proceed promptly (art. 10(3) BGS). In the 2022 round the Federal Council decided on 29 November 2023. For an extension, Casinò Admiral SA's application was published on 6 August 2024, the Federal Council granted it on 26 February 2025, and the online casino started on 16 July 2025.
• If the application is incomplete the ESBK sets a time limit to complete it; if the limit lapses, it asks the Federal Council not to consider the application.
• No formal pre-approval of the licence or of games exists before the grant. Operation may start only after the Federal Council grant, the ESBK's confirmation and the game approvals (art. 15 VGS).

Each automated or online casino game needs the ESBK's approval, with a certificate of an accredited conformity assessment body. The data recording system (DZS) must be in Switzerland.

• The ESBK accepts certificates only from bodies accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and 17020, or holding an equivalent foreign accreditation. Its list of 4 March 2026 names nine: BMM Testlabs, eCOGRA, Gaming Associates Europe, GLI Europe, GLI Gaming Laboratory, GLI UK Gaming, Global Lab, Lean Lab Company (RiskCherry) and Quinel.
• Local certification by a Swiss body is not required. A certificate does not clear a game on its own: it must show that the game meets the Swiss rules, and the ESBK still issues its own approval for each casino game (art. 16(1) BGS).
• The DZS of a casino that runs online games must be located in Switzerland and certified before it goes live and before each change (art. 60 VGS). Nothing requires the game servers, random number generator or backups to be in Switzerland. Cloud hosting is neither permitted nor forbidden by name.
• DZS data is kept for at least five years from the transfer of the casino tax and is available online to the ESBK on request (art. 61 VGS).
• Changes to the IT systems used for online games that affect the course of play or the interaction with players need the ESBK's prior approval (art. 22 VGS).
• The casino's information security management must be ISO/IEC 27001 certified or provide comparable security by other measures (art. 65 VGS).
• No real-time feed to the ESBK is prescribed. Casinos send monthly GGR statements, quarterly and annual tax returns, and immediate notice of failures or significant disruptions of the DZS (art. 64 VGS).
• A player account is opened only for an adult with residence or habitual abode in Switzerland. The minimum age is 18. No geolocation control is prescribed, and no .ch domain is required.

Casinos are financial intermediaries under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, supervised by the ESBK under the GwV-ESBK.

• Yearly: business report, report on the security concept, audited accounts, player-protection report and AML report. The accounts are audited by an independent auditor in the ordinary form, and the audit report goes to the ESBK.
• An online casino must identify and register a player who reaches CHF 4,000 in deposits or withdrawals within 24 hours (art. 3 GwV-ESBK).
• Suspicion is reported to the money-laundering reporting office (MROS) without delay. AML documentation is kept for ten years after the business relationship ends, in Switzerland (art. 21 GwV-ESBK).
• Changes of shareholders above 5%, of capital or voting interests, and of the concession conditions are reported to the ESBK. The concession itself cannot be transferred.

The route to a live online casino, in order. Only step 2 is open at set times.

1. 01

   Form the Swiss stock corporation

   Art. 8 BGS · CHF 4 million (A) or CHF 2 million (B)

   A Swiss Aktiengesellschaft with registered shares and fully paid-in capital, owners and managers of good repute, and a location in a zone.

2. 02

   Win a concession in the tender

   Federal Council · 20 years

   File the application with the ESBK in the tender window, with a cost advance of CHF 100,000, or CHF 150,000 with the online extension. The Federal Council decides, and the decision cannot be appealed.

3. 03

   Apply for the online extension

   Art. 9 BGS · CHF 3 million more capital

   Applied for with the concession or at any time during its term. The Federal Council grants it, and it runs for the term of the concession.

4. 04

   Certify the platform and games

   Art. 18 BGS · art. 60 VGS

   An accredited body certifies each game and the DZS, which sits in Switzerland. The ESBK approves each casino game.

5. 05

   Go live and report

   Art. 15 VGS

   Start after the grant, the ESBK's confirmation and the game approvals. File monthly GGR statements and tax returns, and meet the AML duties under the GwV-ESBK.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 6 Nov 2026.