A recent evaluation by the Intercantonal Gambling Supervisory Authority (Gespa) for the year 2025 has revealed concerning findings in Switzerland's gambling landscape. While the assessment indicates that player-protection measures implemented by the nation's two lottery operators—Swisslos and Loterie Romande—are generally effective online, it underscored significant risks associated with sports betting and highlighted serious deficiencies in age control measures at physical retail outlets.
Gespa noted that online platforms provide operators with better tools to apply and evaluate protective measures compared to land-based sales venues. The report stems from Article 84 of the Federal Act on Money Gaming (BGS), which mandates operators to submit an annual report detailing their player protection measures and the efficacy of their enforcement. The two operators, Swisslos, which serves German-speaking areas, and Loterie Romande, catering to the Francophone part of Switzerland, consented to this independent evaluation by Gespa.
One troubling aspect of the report pertains to a mystery shopping exercise conducted by Gespa, in which nearly half of 200 underage testers successfully placed sports bets at retail locations. Notably, self-service terminals demonstrated greater leniency compared to transactions facilitated by clerks. This finding highlights a significant gap in protecting youth at physical gambling facilities. In response, Gespa and the operators are exploring technical interventions, such as the introduction of identity scanners at self-service points. Additional steps discussed include enhanced staff training and further mystery shopping initiatives aimed at strengthening age verification measures.
In terms of financial outcomes, online gambling constituted 24% of the gross gaming revenue for the two operators in 2025, with the majority—76%—coming from physical sales. Monthly net loss averages for active online players remained largely consistent year on year, with Swisslos reporting monthly losses between CHF47 ($581) and CHF83, though these figures exclude extraordinary jackpots. In comparison, Loterie Romande's monthly averages ranged from CHF56 to CHF75.
Sports betting, which falls under Swisslos’s brand Sporttip, continues to present the highest risk, revealing the steepest average losses and a significant proportion of players (over CHF2,000 in monthly losses). This demographic is predominantly younger males, a group identified by Gespa as potentially more susceptible to gambling-related harms. The regulator expressed concern about emerging betting features, such as cash-out options, that may prompt impulsive gambling behavior or create a misleading sense of control.
To mitigate these risks, both Swisslos and Loterie Romande have implemented mandatory monthly loss limits across certain product categories, including caps of CHF2,000 and CHF900 for designated games, with a universal monthly deposit limit of CHF10,000. However, only a small fraction of players reached these limits—0.23% of those bound by the CHF2,000 cap for Swisslos, with Loterie Romande seeing 1% reach their limits. Temporary self-exclusion measures were utilized by 0.57% and 0.6% of active players for Swisslos and Loterie Romande respectively in 2025.
Automated systems flagged 3,048 players for Swisslos, amounting to 0.47% of active users, while Loterie Romande noted 220 flagged gamers, representing 0.12%. In 2025, Swisslos issued 76 gambling bans under Article 80 of the Federal Act on Gambling, a notable increase from 39 in 2024, whereas Loterie Romande issued 65 bans, compared to the prior year’s total of 56.
Changes in operational strategies included Loterie Romande's transition from its Playscan tool to a new monitoring system developed by Sustainable Interaction, which generates risk scores based on recent gameplay and self-assessment tests. Meanwhile, Swisslos rolled out deposit-flow warnings for customers making multiple deposits within a week and expanded informational and blocking resources for players, such as software recommendations like Gamban and Net Nanny. Notably, Swisslos has also announced plans to reduce the maximum monthly loss limit for Sporttip users aged 18 to 21 to CHF1,000, effective March 2026.
Financially, Swisslos and Loterie Romande collectively reported a net profit of CHF814 million in 2025, representing a decrease of 4.7% from CHF854 million in 2024. Swisslos saw its net profit decline by 5.7%, amounting to CHF562 million, while Loterie Romande’s net profit fell 2.3% to CHF252 million. Under Swiss regulations, these profits are allocated by cantons to support public welfare sectors like culture, social services, and sports.
Looking forward, Swisslos plans to collaborate with cantonal and industry partners on a research project in 2026-27 to better understand the behavior of players who have been banned and to assess the effectiveness of exclusion measures. Concurrently, the Federal Office of Statistics will conduct a nationwide gambling behavior survey in 2026, with results anticipated in 2027.
