Winners And Losers: Sports Betting In Switzerland

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) With the Euro 2024 football tournament and the Olympic Games just weeks away, bookmakers and punters are looking forward to a summer of betting on sports. But how easy is it to have a flutter in Switzerland?

This content was published on May 27, 2024 - 16:35 8 minutes

Born in London, Thomas was a journalist at The Independent before moving to Bern in 2005. He speaks all three official Swiss languages and enjoys travelling the country and practising them, above all in pubs, restaurants and gelaterias.

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The global sports betting market is massive – revenue is projected to reachExternal link more than $45 billion (CHF41.2 billion) this year and grow at more than 7% over the next five years. In Switzerland, government revenue from lotteries and sports is also increasing, and since this legally has to flow back into good causes, in theory (almost) everyone's a winner.

How popular is sports betting in Switzerland?

While Switzerland isn't in the same league as Australia, where every resident adult is estimated to loseExternal link on average almost $1,000 a year (mostly on gaming machines), the average Swiss spent CHF426 ($466) on lotteries and sports in 2022, according to a report by the Swiss Gambling Supervisory AuthorityExternal link . Sadly for them, they recouped only CHF293, resulting in an average net loss of CHF133.

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