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Discover the ESBK license, Swiss gambling laws, and how they compare across Europe, plus key FAQs about Swiss casino licenses.
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What is the Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission License?
The Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission license (ESBK license) is the official gambling permit issued by the government of Switzerland. The Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission literally means “Swiss Federal Gaming Board” in German, one of the four national languages of Switzerland.
While gambling has been legal in Switzerland since the 1990s, the ESBK did not regulate online casinos until September 2017, when lawmakers passed an updated Gaming Act. The government also passed a series of gaming ordinances, casino rules, and anti-money laundering laws in 2018. Online gambling officially became legal in the country in 2019.
Today, these laws still make up the framework of legal land-based and online gambling in Switzerland. Under these laws, the ESBK works to regulate casinos alongside Gespa (the Swiss Gambling Supervisory Authority) and the Eidgenössische Justiz- und Polizeidepartement (the Federal Department of Justice and Police).
All casinos in Switzerland must have an ESBK license and must follow the regulator’s advertising, anti-money laundering, and reporting rules to operate legally in the country.
Why an ESBK License Matters to Online Casino Players
All gambling in Switzerland is heavily regulated by the federal government to ensure players and bettors are protected from fraud, money laundering, and underage gambling. Seeing an ESBK license at an online casino tells players that a site can be trusted.
ESBK casinos have the government’s approval. They can only get this if they have fair games and robust player protection policies. For example, all games must utilize verified Random Number Generator (RNG) technology to guarantee fair and completely random outcomes. Sites must also use modern SSL encryption technology and other firewalls to protect players, their data, and any financial transactions to and from the casino.
Casinos in Switzerland are also bound by Swiss law and gambling regulations, which means they will have to pay penalties if they break the law. This system gives players support and legal pathways to be compensated if they ever get ripped off by a licensed online casino. Unlicensed sites are a much different story. Overall, an ESBK provides security and assurance to players.
Differences & Strengths vs Other Online Casinos Licenses
As Switzerland’s federal casino regulator, the Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission oversees land-based casinos and iGaming in the country. Unlike operators that oversee gambling operations across multiple jurisdictions, like the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), the ESBK focuses solely on casinos in Switzerland. The Swiss Gambling Supervisory Authority, or Gespa, is responsible for regulating large-scale gambling, like sports betting, lotteries, and skill games, in the country.
Here's how it compares to other gambling regulators:
Switzerland has no bans on gambling advertisements, unlike the Netherlands, Italy, and several other European countries, which have bans on gambling advertisements for sports and other industries that are attractive to young and at-risk persons.
The ESBK is a casino-specific regulator operating under Gespa, the national Swiss gambling regulator. Most other jurisdictions do not have separate agencies for casinos and sports betting. For example, the MGA and UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) issue licenses for all kinds of betting sites.
Swiss taxes are very high compared to other popular European countries. The 2017 Gaming Act includes a 40% minimum gambling tax with a top marginal tax rate of 80%. Malta charges just a 5% tax on gambling revenue.
How To Verify the Validity of an Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission License
The Swiss Gambling Supervisory Authority (Gespa) has a searchable database of license holders. If you have any questions about whether an ESBK casino is valid, you can use this tool to verify the validity of the casino’s license.
If you are really worried about whether an online casino is legit, you might also want to check out the Gespa casino blocklist. The list is updated every few months and contains sites illegally offering gambling on the internet in Switzerland without an ESBK license. You should be able to spot the ESBK license on the footer of any reputable online casino in Switzerland. The logo and licensing information should be clearly displayed here.
Offering games of chance for money from abroad is illegal in Switzerland. If you find an unlicensed site that is operating in Switzerland, you should report it to Gespa so that it can be included on the blocklist, which will help Swiss players from getting scammed. You can do this on the Gespa website.
Recent and Upcoming Changes to the ESBK License
The ESBK is a relatively new agency compared to other European regulators. The Swiss federal government has not instituted any major changes since passing the 2017 Gaming Act and gambling-related ordinances in 2018.
However, in 2025, the Federal Department of Justice and Police and the Swiss Federal Audit Office were commissioned to assess the effectiveness of Switzerland’s current anti-money laundering laws. The report is due to be released sometime after January 30, 2026.
Depending on the findings, this report could have an impact on the ESBK license process and transparency requirements for license holders. We won’t know for sure, though, until the second half of 2026, when Switzerland’s new Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities and the Identification of Beneficial Owners (LETA) and the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) come into effect.
ESBK License FAQs
What is the ESBK license?
The ESBK license is a legal gambling license issued by the Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission, the Swiss Federal Gaming Board. All online casinos in Switzerland are required by law to hold one of these licenses. If they don’t, they can’t legally offer casino games to Swiss players.
Are players from all countries allowed to use ESBK casinos?
No. The Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission is responsible for regulating the Swiss market, so ESBK casinos are only available to players located in Switzerland. However, many casinos in Switzerland are major international brands and are available in other countries. You just might not be able to use the Swiss-specific site (depending on your country’s gambling laws).
How can I check if a casino’s Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder licence is valid and up to date?
In order to check the validity of a GGL license, you should first get the license information from the gambling website in question. You can then use that information to search the GGL Whitelist on the regulator’s website. If the casino has a valid license, it will appear in the database along with information on the expiration date and details of that license.
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