The Intercantonal Gambling Supervisory Authority (Gespa) released its evaluation for 2025, indicating that while player-protection measures implemented by Switzerland’s lottery operators are largely effective in online settings, there are significant ongoing risks in sports betting and serious weaknesses in age verification at retail locations.
The Swiss gambling regulator noted that online platforms enable operators to implement and evaluate these protections with greater precision than their land-based counterparts.
Under Article 84 of the Federal Act on Money Gaming (BGS), operators are mandated to submit annual reports detailing their player protection measures and their effectiveness. The operators involved in Gespa's review are Swisslos, the state-approved lottery serving German-speaking areas, and Loterie Romande, which operates in the Francophone region. Gespa's evaluation is an independent assessment of the reports submitted by these operators, published with their consent.
The report highlighted alarming findings from a mystery shopping initiative, revealing that nearly half of the 200 underage test customers were able to place sports bets at various retail outlets. It was noted that self-service terminals exhibited more lenient age verification than traditional clerk-assisted transactions.
This significant discovery underscores a notable shortfall in youth protection at physical betting locations. Gespa, in collaboration with the operators, is currently engaged in discussions regarding potential technical solutions, which could include the implementation of identity scanners for self-service terminals. Moreover, additional staff training, further mystery shopping exercises, and enhanced age verification tools are being considered.
In terms of financial performance, online gambling constituted 24% of the gross gaming revenue from both operators in 2025, while physical sales accounted for the remaining 76%. Data showed that the average monthly net losses among active online players remained stable year over year. Swisslos recorded monthly loss averages of CHF47 ($581) to CHF83, excluding substantial jackpot-related anomalies. Loterie Romande's averages ranged from CHF56 to CHF75.
The sports betting segment, offered under the brand Sporttip by Swisslos, emerged as the category with the highest risk, exhibiting significant average losses and a high proportion of players experiencing monthly losses exceeding CHF2,000. The demographic of sports bettors is predominantly younger males, considered at greater risk for gambling-related harms according to research by Gespa.
Gespa emphasized the need for ongoing scrutiny of the risks tied to sports betting, especially as new features like cash-out may encourage impulsive gambling and distort players' perception of control.
To mitigate risks, both operators have enforced mandatory monthly loss limits on several game types, capping losses at CHF2,000 and CHF900 for specific games, with an overarching monthly deposit limit of CHF10,000 across all products. However, only a small fraction of players reached these limits; Swisslos noted that only 82 players, or 0.23% subject to the CHF2,000 cap, did so at least once. For Loterie Romande, this figure was slightly higher at 1%, involving 160 players.
In 2025, 0.57% of active online players from Swisslos and 0.6% from Loterie Romande utilized temporary self-exclusion measures. Automated early-warning systems identified 3,048 players from Swisslos, representing 0.47% of active users, and 220 from Loterie Romande, which amounted to 0.12%.
Swisslos enforced 76 gambling bans based on Article 80 of the Federal Act on Gambling, marking an increase from 39 in 2024. Similarly, Loterie Romande imposed 65 bans, up from 56 the previous year. Notably, many of these bans were instigated by voluntary requests from players seeking to limit their gambling.
Changes implemented by the operators include the replacement of Loterie Romande's previous Playscan tool with a new monitoring system from Sustainable Interaction. This updated system employs recent data and self-assessment results to provide players with a seven-level risk score.
Additionally, Swisslos introduced new deposit-flow warnings to inform customers trying to make a fifth deposit within a week and enhanced the support tools available, including software recommendations like Gamban and Net Nanny. A new measure reducing the maximum monthly loss limit for Sporttip customers aged 18 to 21 to CHF1,000 is set to start in March 2026.
In terms of profitability, Swisslos and Loterie Romande reported a total net profit of CHF814 million for 2025, down 4.7% from CHF854 million in 2024. Net profit for Swisslos dropped 5.7% to CHF562 million, while Loterie Romande’s profit decreased by 2.3% to CHF252 million.
Under Swiss federal law, these profits are allocated by cantons to various public benefit sectors, including culture, social services, and sports. Looking ahead, Swisslos intends to participate in a research initiative with cantonal and industry partners to explore the behaviors of banned players and assess the effectiveness of exclusion policies. Additionally, the Federal Office of Statistics is set to carry out a nationwide survey on gambling behavior in 2026, with outcomes expected in 2027.
