SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Planzer and Florian Furger, PLANZER LAW
11.2 Sanctions The new criminal law sanctions have been available by law since 1 January 2019 and the new adminis- trative law sanctions since 1 July 2019. While these sanctions are available to the authorities, their use and effectiveness have been limited. It has been possible to apply blacklisting and domain blocking measures since 1 July 2019, but initially they experienced delays in practice. The first blacklists by the ESBK and Gespa were published on 3 September 2019 and included a rather limited number of web- sites. Over the past five years, the list has been updat- ed regularly and has thus grown steadily; it currently holds approximately 3,250 domain names. As per criminal law sanctions, the regulatory authori- ties have thus far shown little appetite to use enforce- ment means of criminal law against unlicensed online operators. This is not very surprising since the appli- cability of Swiss criminal law in relation to acts taking place abroad (that is, remotely offering games through the internet) and the enforceability of criminal sanc- tions in relation to such acts abroad is uncertain. 11.3 Financial Penalties Financial penalties can be enforced rather easily with- in the territorial boundaries of Switzerland. In other words, financial penalties against licensed or unli- censed operators based in Switzerland are enforce- able. By contrast, if the Swiss authorities were to hand down financial penalties against unlicensed operators based abroad, their enforceability would be uncertain, as there are both legal and practical difficulties that make enforcement questionable. Contrary to other European countries, there are no indications that penalties for offences by licensees would have been significantly raised. The fines con- tinue to be calculated based on the provisions in the Gaming Act and the general principles enshrined in the Federal Criminal Code.
shall be set between 40% and 80% of the GGR ( Spiel- bankenabgabe ). The Gaming Ordinance regulates the tax rate in more detail. Pursuant to Article 114 (1) of the Gaming Ordinance, the basic tax rate regarding GGR generated in terrestrial casinos is 40% and is applied on GGR up to CHF10 million. For every addi- tional CHF1 million, the marginal tax rate increases by 0.5%, up to the theoretical maximum rate of 80%. According to Article 120 (2)(b) of the Gaming Act, the progressive tax rate for online casino operations shall be set between 20% and 80% of the GGR. The law sets forth that the tax rate can be reduced to half the amount during the first four years of operation. Pursuant to Article 115 (1) of the Gaming Ordinance, the basic tax rate of 20% is applied on GGR up to CHF3 million. From this value, the marginal tax rate increases by the following steps up to the theoretical maximum tax rate of 80%: • 2% for each additional CHF1 million of GGR between CHF3 million and CHF10 million; • 1% for each additional CHF1 million of GGR between CHF10 million and CHF20 million; • 0.5% for each additional CHF1 million of GGR between CHF20 million and CHF40 million; • 0.5% for each additional CHF4 million of GGR between CHF40 million and CHF80 million; and • 0.5% for each additional CHF10 million of GGR from CHF80 million. It should be noted that the financial compensation scheme of a Swiss land-based casino towards inter- national business partners is subject to approval by the ESBK. There is no gaming tax with regard to skill gaming; the normal local tax rate applies. Accordingly, the tax competition between cantons and municipalities applies in this field, with some cantons and munici- palities applying internationally competitive tax rates. With regards to the public lotteries, their net profit is earmarked and supposed to go, by law, to good causes such as sports and culture.
12. Tax 12.1 Tax Rate by Sector
According to Article 120 (2)(a) of the Gaming Act, the progressive tax rate for land-based casino operations
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