(AsiaGameHub) – By: Elena Rostova
Six years after Switzerland revised its gambling law to expand regulated play, the sector contracted. Total 2025 turnover stayed under CHF4bn, per regulator Gespa’s official data. Even with a heavy crackdown on unlicensed foreign operators, per capita spending dropped. This breaks the multi-year expansion trend that followed the 2019 reform.
Total 2025 turnover for cross-state lotteries and sports betting hit CHF3.87bn. It is down 2.4% from 2024 levels. Gross player yield fell 3.7% to CHF1.203bn, from CHF1.25bn a year prior. Average per capita stakes dropped from CHF438 to CHF424. That pushed net per person spend down to CHF132, across 9.12 million Swiss residents. Every major product category saw declines last year. Horse racing pools dropped the most, down 13.7% in turnover. Combined net profit for the two main operators fell 4.7% to CHF814m. Online BSE share rose just one point to 24%. The gain came only because land-based revenue fell far faster. Gespa supported 25 criminal investigations into illegal gambling last year. It ended 2025 with 671 blocked unlicensed foreign operator domains.
The 2019 gambling law revision was designed to pull players away from illegal sites. It aimed to grow the regulated domestic sector, and lock in steady public funding. All legal gambling profits are distributed to culture, sports and social services by cantons. The 2025 data shows this core strategy has hit a hard wall. Consumer demand for regulated gambling is falling, not growing. Blocking illegal sites does not convert lapsed players to legal operators. It just shrinks the total legal tax base for needed public services. Any demand that leaves the regulated sector will flow straight to unlicensed operators.
Author bio: Elena Rostova, public policy expert specializing in compliance assessments for government and regulatory bodies.