- The new Money Gaming Act will allow existing licensed casinos to bring their games online, allowing poker, blackjack and roulette.
- PokerStars says it is working to find a local partner to launch under license next year.
- Playtech has partnered with Swiss Casino Group to help bring their brands online.
- However, a question remains over a “good reputation” clause that threatens to curtain such efforts.
Global online gaming giant The Stars Group, parent company of PokerStars, and igaming platform provider Playtech, operator of the iPoker network, have each revealed plans to partner with local Swiss casinos to operate under license in Switzerland in 2019.
The announcements come days after the Federal Council finally adopted sweeping new rules for gambling in the country that ends an existing ban on online gaming.
The new Money Gaming Act, which has been in the works for six years, will allow existing licensed casinos to bring their games online, allowing poker, blackjack and roulette. It will come into force on January 1, 2019, though the first licenses are not expected to be issued until July.
However, in a protectionist model seen in Belgium and proliferating in the United States, this opportunity is only open to those that hold a bricks-and-mortar casino license.
