The second edition of Prague Gaming Summit will include a wide range topics and compliance updates from various countries in the region and the organizers are adding a new topic in the panel discussion for the event which will take place on the 29th of March at Andel’s by Vienna House Prague.
Besides the compliance updates and opportunities of the Czech, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian and Austriand markets, the event will also feature a presentation of the highly awaited referendum in Switzerland.
On September 29, 2017 the Swiss Parliament passed a revised gambling law entitled the Money Gaming Act. The Act unites Switzerland’s existing acts on casino games and betting/lotteries into a single Act. The new Act equally lifted the current online gambling ban, however only operators of licensed casinos (type A and B) may qualify to apply for an additional online casino license. The new Money Gaming Act therefore provides the possibility to block access to foreign online gambling websites to Swiss citizens.
Despite not being strictly prohibited, online gambling was technically illegal under current legislation but international operators were able to target local players. However, the new law ends that and formally legalises online gambling, but bars international companies from operating within the country.
Therefore, internet service providers will be obliged to block access to international gambling operators’ websites and the Swiss government will provide compensation for any expense it may provoke.
In spite of clearly passing the parliament, the new legislation was challenged by the youth organisations of the Swiss People’s Party, the Free Democratic Party and the Green Liberal Party. They wanted to organize a referendum against blocking international operators which needed to gather 50k signatures in 100 days in order to even take place.
On January 18, 2018 the required number of signatures were finally submitted. Therefore, a public referendum concerning the Money Gaming Act will take place on June 10, 2018. If the Swiss electorate accepts the act by referendum, the new Gaming Act will remain unchanged and come into force during 2019. In the other hand, the parliament will have to pass a revised new Gaming Act, delaying the process of implementation.
The latest topic announcement comes along with the announcement of a new speaker who will join the “Focus on Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Austria” panel discussion and will give the inside information about the Swiss market and the upcoming referendum.
