Illegal sports betting turns over CHF 300 million a year

Illegal sports betting generates an estimated 300 million francs in annual turnover in Switzerland, according to an SRF Investigativ report that used undercover footage to show how cash is loaded onto betting accounts.

In a bar in a basement in an industrial district near Lucerne, an SRF reporter deposited 100 francs in less than two minutes. The cash went into a service wallet and appeared as betting credit on the reporter’s smartphone. An insider said people rarely visited the bar for beer or coffee; they went there to top up accounts on illegal betting platforms.

More than 100 betting venues

Illegal sports betting is widespread in Switzerland, said Manuel Richard, director of Gespa, the intercantonal gambling supervisory authority. Bets are placed in restaurants, kiosks, bars and club premises, including in unremarkable rooms in industrial districts.

Authorities do not know exactly how many illegal betting venues operate in the country, Richard said, but he estimated there were more than 100. The criminal organisations behind them operate across Switzerland and across national borders, he said. A successful venue can handle about 100,000 francs in illegal bets each month, Gespa estimates.

Only Swisslos and Loterie Romande are licensed to offer online sports betting in Switzerland. They must meet requirements including measures to protect people at risk of gambling addiction. Foreign providers do not hold Swiss licences and are therefore illegal. When authorities block a platform, its operators can set up a new domain. Players who bet on the platforms are not committing an offence, according to the report.

Cash deposits and quick payouts

Players deposit cash at the venues, then place their bets digitally on their phones. Rico, whose name was changed, said he repeatedly used the same kiosk over several years, adding hundreds or sometimes thousands of francs to his account. He said illegal platforms offered better odds than licensed providers and venues paid out winnings immediately.

For someone with a gambling addiction, the speed of payment matters, Rico said. He also valued the anonymity of cash: deposits did not appear as payments to a betting company on his bank account. He said he had lost a total of 840,000 francs.

Rico described gambling about 12,000 francs away in a few minutes during a family celebration. He said he had gone to the toilet to place several bets, then returned to the gathering without telling anyone. “You just smile and go back to your family,” he said, adding that experiences like that were internally devastating.

Accounts from players, addiction experts and authorities indicate that venues take cash and credit it to digital betting accounts. Runners periodically collect money or bring cash for larger payouts. The report says the money often goes abroad without being taxed.