Switzerland Gets its First Online Poker Website

Switzerland’s official gaming regulatory authority, ESBK, has given Casino Neuchâtel permission for online casino, making it the 9^th licensed online gambling platform out of the total 21 casinos in the country. Once the website is launched post-approval of the technical platform, it will become the country’s first licensed online poker website.

Online gambling has been garnering tremendous demand for the past few years. However, the demand has shot up unprecedentedly amid the coronavirus pandemic, as most casinos across the globe remained shut due to the lockdown. Switzerland is no exception to this. And being one of the most popular destinations for gambling in Europe and being home to one of the richest populaces in the world, it was online time that the demand for online gambling grew among the Swiss gambling circles.

This was the second approval for an online gambling portal sanctioned by the ESBK, the first being their nod to Casinos Austria Worldwide in April, though it hasn’t gone live yet. The seven active online casinos also include Casino du Lac Meyrin and Grand Casino Baden, two of the biggest casinos in Europe.

As all the casinos in Switzerland were shut for a long time, the ESBK is expecting applications from more and more casino operators seeking permission to go online. The regulatory board will get a new chief in the face of independent counsel Adv Fabio Abate, who will take over the proceeding from the current chief, Hermann Burgi, from January 01, 2021.