Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos in Switzerland

Is online gambling legal in Switzerland? (October 2026)

Yes, but only through Swiss-licensed providers. The Federal Act on Gambling (Geldspielgesetz, BGS) has applied since 1 January 2019. It replaced the 1923 Lottery Act and the 1998 Casino Act and, for the first time, allowed real-money casino games online. The catch is who may offer them: only casinos that already hold a Swiss land-based concession can extend it to the internet, and only Swiss-based operators qualify.

Lotteries and sports betting are treated as "large games". Two intercantonal operators hold the rights to them: Swisslos in German- and Italian-speaking Switzerland and Loterie Romande in the French-speaking cantons. The regulator Gespa states plainly that offers from any other operator are illegal.

Crypto gambling has no separate legal category. A crypto casino licensed in Curaçao, Anjouan or anywhere else outside Switzerland is simply an unlicensed foreign provider in Swiss law, whatever coins it accepts. Our guide to crypto casino licences explains why an offshore licence does not carry over to markets like this one.

Who regulates gambling in Switzerland

Article 106 of the Federal Constitution gives the federal government responsibility for gambling law. Supervision is split between two bodies, and knowing which one covers what helps when you want to check a site or report one.

• ESBK (Federal Gaming Board, Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission): supervises land-based and online casinos, collects the casino levy that funds the old-age and survivors’ insurance (AHV/AVS), and fights illegal casino games.
• Gespa (intercantonal gambling supervisory authority): licenses and supervises large games such as lotteries and sports betting, including online, and takes reports of illegal lotteries, betting and skill games.
• The cantons: approve and supervise small games such as local raffles and small poker tournaments, and may set stricter local rules.

Every Swiss licensee must open a verified player account before you can play. Operators have to check your identity and age (18+) and keep excluded players out. That is the opposite of the "no-KYC" model many crypto casinos promote; our no-KYC casino guide explains what you give up when a site skips those checks.

Blocking lists: what happens when you visit an offshore site

Since 2019 Swiss internet providers have had to block access to unlicensed foreign gambling sites. The ESBK keeps a blocking list for casino games and Gespa keeps one for lotteries and betting. Providers must apply DNS blocking to every domain on either list. New versions are announced by general ruling in the Swiss Federal Gazette, which is the legally binding notice.

The lists are growing. Gespa’s page shows 29 versions of its list, from the first on 3 September 2019 to the current one dated 25 August 2026. Trade press counted roughly 2,900 to 3,000 blocked domains in early 2026, and one later report put the ESBK list above 3,500. Reports disagree on the exact total, and neither regulator publishes a running count on the pages we checked, but the direction is clear: hundreds of new domains are added each year as operators open mirror sites.

If you type in a blocked address, your provider shows a notice saying the site is not authorised in Switzerland. We do not explain ways around this and we do not recommend trying. Using an unlicensed site is not a criminal offence for the player, but Gespa notes that stakes and winnings can be confiscated in criminal proceedings against an illegal provider, and you have no Swiss regulator to complain to if a withdrawal is refused.

How we list crypto casinos for Switzerland

The operators shown on this page are offshore crypto casinos that state they accept players from Switzerland, such as Stake, BC.Game, Roobet and Shuffle. None of them holds a Swiss casino concession, and none is Swisslos or Loterie Romande. A listing here is not a statement that an operator is legal or licensed in Switzerland. Many of their domains are on, or may be added to, the ESBK and Gespa blocking lists.

Be clear about what you give up. Swiss rules on identity checks, exclusion, limits and payouts do not apply to these sites, Swiss regulators cannot help with a dispute, stakes and winnings can be confiscated in proceedings against an illegal provider, and winnings from foreign sites are taxable as income. Gespa also says advertising unlicensed lotteries and betting, including placing links to them, is prohibited in Switzerland. Read each review, check the operator’s own terms, and treat any deposit as money you can afford to lose. Our coverage page explains how we decide where to list operators, and our Canada page covers a market where offshore sites are tolerated in practice.

If you want to play legally in Switzerland, the ESBK website lists every concessioned casino, land-based and online. A Swiss online casino will always be run by, or in partnership with, a casino you can find on that list.

How to check a Swiss gambling site

• Find the operator on the ESBK list of concessioned casinos, or confirm it is Swisslos or Loterie Romande for lotteries and betting.
• Expect a full identity check before your first deposit. A site that lets you play anonymously is not Swiss-licensed.
• Look for Swiss social-protection tools: exclusion, limits and links to cantonal counselling services.
• Be wary of sites that advertise crypto deposits, huge welcome bonuses or "no verification" play to Swiss users. Those are the hallmarks of the offshore sites that end up on the blocking lists.
• If a site looks illegal, you can report it to Gespa (lotteries and betting) or the ESBK (casino games).

Prediction markets are a newer grey zone that regulators are watching. In June 2026 Gespa joined other European regulators in a statement on prediction markets during the FIFA World Cup, and it published an article on the subject in April 2026. Betting on match outcomes through such platforms is still betting in Swiss law, so the same licensing rules apply.

Advertising rules in Switzerland

Swiss licensees may advertise, but within limits set by the Gambling Act and its ordinance: no advertising aimed at minors or excluded players, and nothing misleading. Unlicensed providers may not advertise at all.

Youth protection is a live issue even for licensed operators. In July 2026 Gespa published the results of test purchases of sports betting tickets, which it described as unsatisfactory for youth protection. Retail and online operators alike must keep under-18s out, and advertising may not target them.

Enforcement looks at whether advertising targets people in Switzerland. In 2024 the ESBK examined whether the Sauber Formula 1 team’s Stake sponsorship counted as unauthorised advertising. It closed the case because the team appears mainly abroad and no appearances with the Stake logo took place in Switzerland. The test the ESBK applied was whether the promotion targets people in Switzerland.

Payments, crypto and tax on winnings

Swiss licensed casinos pay out to the verified account holder, and payment options vary by operator. Offshore crypto casinos are a different story: they are blocked, unregulated in Switzerland, and outside the reach of Swiss consumer protection. Our deposits and withdrawals guide covers the practical risks of crypto payments in general.

Tax depends on where you won. Since 2019 the rules are:

The threshold is adjusted for inflation and was about CHF 1 million when the law took effect. Check the current figure with the Federal Tax Administration or your cantonal tax office before you file. Winnings from a blocked offshore site get none of these exemptions.

Self-exclusion and where to get help

Swiss casinos, land-based and online, must run social-protection programmes. A gambling exclusion (Spielsperre) can be requested by the player or imposed by the operator, and it applies across Swiss casinos and the online games of the lottery companies. Licensed operators must also check new accounts against it.

SOS-Spielsucht runs a free, anonymous helpline on 0800 040 080, available 24 hours a day, on behalf of 18 cantons and Liechtenstein, with online counselling at sos-spielsucht.ch. Each canton also has specialist counselling services for players and families.

Our responsible gambling guide lists tools you can use on any device, such as blocking software and bank gambling blocks, and the player protection page summarises the warning signs.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• July 2025: Casino Mendrisio launched online games under admiral.ch.
• August 2025: the ESBK withdrew Airport Casino Basel’s online extension after it closed goldengrand.ch, and withdrew Casino St. Moritz’s concession, including its unused online right.
• Spring 2026: Casino Locarno’s deadline to start online games. Trade press reported its approval as the tenth Swiss online licence.
• 2026: the blocking lists kept growing, with the latest Gespa version dated 25 August 2026.
• 2026: the Federal Office of Justice is evaluating the Gambling Act, looking at whether it channels players to legal offers, how player protection works and how useful the blocking tools are. Results are expected in the second half of 2026.
• September 2026: Gespa hosted a DACHL meeting in Bern on cross-border cooperation against illegal gambling.

For comparison with neighbouring markets, see our pages on Germany and Italy, which also restrict online casinos to local licensees. We will update this page when the evaluation report is published or the law changes.