Research · Data report
ESBK Swiss Gaming Market Report 2025
Swiss online casinos earned CHF 313.6 million in gross gaming revenue in 2025 and paid CHF 133.2 million of it to the AHV/IV pension funds. This report breaks the official ESBK figures down by operator, language region and launch year, rebuilds the progressive levy from the ordinance, and counts the federal blocklist of unlicensed sites.
By Swiss Observer ResearchPublished November 12, 2026Data checked November 12, 2026
- online gross gaming revenue in 2025, up 1.2% on 2024
- CHF 313.6M
- ESBK annual report 2025
- casino levy on online games, paid in full to AHV/IV
- CHF 133.2M
- ESBK annual report 2025
- of the nine active operators’ revenue went to the four that started in 2019
- 78.5%
- Swiss Observer calculation on ESBK data
- domains of unlicensed gaming sites on the ESBK blocklist in August 2026
- 3,500+
- ESBK blocklist, 25 August 2026
The Swiss casino market in 2025
Swiss casinos made gross gaming revenue of CHF 878.5 million in 2025, 2.1% less than in 2024. Land-based casinos fell 3.9% to CHF 564.9 million. Online games grew 1.2% to CHF 313.6 million and now make up 36% of the market.
Gross gaming revenue is stakes minus the winnings paid out. It is the tax base. The federal casino levy came to CHF 396.3 million. CHF 353.2 million went to the AHV/IV old-age, survivors’ and disability insurance, and CHF 43.1 million to the cantons that host a casino with a B licence. The cantonal share comes from land-based play only. The whole online levy went to AHV/IV.
Gross gaming revenue 2025: CHF 878.5M
- Land-based casinos: CHF 564.9M
- Online games: CHF 313.6M
Casino levy 2025: CHF 396.3M
- Land-based, to AHV/IV: CHF 220.0M
- Land-based, to cantons: CHF 43.1M
- Online, to AHV/IV: CHF 133.2M
Online revenue by operator, region and launch year
Nine casinos ran an online operation at the end of 2025. Each one is the extension of a land-based casino: Swiss law gives no licence for online play alone. Filter by language region or launch cohort, and select a column header to sort.
9 operators of 9 selected: CHF 302.7M of online gross gaming revenue, 100.0% of the nine-operator total, and CHF 130.7M of casino levy.
MyCasino.ch
CHF 95.4M31.5%
Swiss Casinos
CHF 76.6M25.3%
Jackpots.ch
CHF 41.8M13.8%
Pasino.ch
CHF 25.0M8.3%
Casino777.ch
CHF 24.0M7.9%
StarVegas
CHF 16.5M5.4%
Swiss4Win
CHF 10.5M3.5%
7Melons
CHF 9.4M3.1%
Admiral
CHF 3.5M1.2%
2019 first movers2020–2025 entrantsSource: ESBK annual report 2025.
| Online brand and casino | Canton | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyCasino.chGrand Casino Luzern | LUDeutschschweiz | Aug 2019 | CHF 95,420,514 | -3.1% | CHF 48,262,308 | 50.6% |
| Swiss CasinosCasino Pfäffikon | SZDeutschschweiz | Sep 2019 | CHF 76,569,824 | +8.5% | CHF 37,036,196 | 48.4% |
| Jackpots.chGrand Casino Baden | AGDeutschschweiz | Jul 2019 | CHF 41,836,538 | -2.9% | CHF 17,360,913 | 41.5% |
| Pasino.chCasino du Lac Meyrin | GERomandie | Nov 2020 | CHF 25,044,667 | +11.8% | CHF 8,805,994 | 35.2% |
| Casino777.chCasino Davos | GRDeutschschweiz | Sep 2019 | CHF 23,957,222 | -21.3% | CHF 8,300,322 | 34.6% |
| StarVegasCasino Interlaken | BEDeutschschweiz | Feb 2020 | CHF 16,478,197 | +6.6% | CHF 5,006,061 | 30.4% |
| Swiss4WinCasinò Lugano | TITicino | Mar 2021 | CHF 10,509,834 | +51.4% | CHF 2,738,442 | 26.1% |
| 7MelonsGrand Casino Bern | BEDeutschschweiz | Sep 2020 | CHF 9,389,473 | +15.8% | CHF 2,352,421 | 25.1% |
| AdmiralCasinò Admiral Mendrisio | TITicino | Jul 2025 | CHF 3,540,653 | new | CHF 830,689 | 23.5% |
| Total, 9 operators | CHF 302,746,922 | CHF 130,693,346 | 43.2% | |||
- The four operators that started in 2019 hold 78.5% of the nine operators’ revenue. Lucerne and Pfäffikon alone hold 56.8%.
- German-speaking Switzerland accounts for 87.1% of revenue. Romandie, with one operator, has 8.3% and Ticino 4.6%.
- Growth came from the smaller operators: Lugano +51.4%, Bern +15.8% and Meyrin +11.8%. Davos lost 21.3% and Lucerne 3.1%.
The ESBK total of CHF 313,613,203 covers eleven online operations. Two of them closed during 2025 and are not in the table: Casino Basel stopped its online games at the end of July (CHF 4.5 million in 2025) and Casino Montreux at the end of October (CHF 6.4 million). The ESBK withdrew both licence extensions. The nine active operators add up to CHF 302,746,922, and all shares on this page use that total.
How the progressive casino levy works
The levy is not a flat tax. Article 115 of the Gaming Ordinance (VGS) sets 20% on the first CHF 3 million of online gross gaming revenue. Above that, the marginal rate rises in five steps to a maximum of 80%. The more a casino earns, the larger the share that goes to AHV/IV.
| Gross gaming revenue per year | Marginal rate | Rate at the top of the band |
|---|---|---|
| Up to CHF 3 million | Base rate | 20% |
| CHF 3 to 10 million | +2 points for each CHF 1 million | 34% |
| CHF 10 to 20 million | +1 point for each CHF 1 million | 44% |
| CHF 20 to 40 million | +0.5 points for each CHF 1 million | 54% |
| CHF 40 to 80 million | +0.5 points for each CHF 4 million | 59% |
| Above CHF 80 million | +0.5 points for each CHF 10 million | 80% maximum, from CHF 490 million |
Levy calculator
- Casino levy
- CHF 8,785,000
- Effective rate
- 35.1%
- Marginal rate
- 46.5%
The casino pays CHF 8,785,000 to AHV/IV and keeps CHF 16,215,000 before costs. Red bar: effective rate. Black line: marginal rate on the next franc.
We rebuilt the tariff from the ordinance and tested it against the amounts the ESBK assessed. For the eight operators with a full year of play, the formula returns the published levy to within one franc. The figures for part-year operators match when revenue is scaled to twelve months. This is why Mendrisio, online only since 16 July 2025, paid 23.5% and not the 20.3% that its revenue alone suggests.
MyCasino.ch
50.6%
Swiss Casinos
48.4%
Jackpots.ch
41.5%
Pasino.ch
35.2%
Casino777.ch
34.6%
StarVegas
30.4%
Swiss4Win
26.1%
7Melons
25.1%
Admiral
23.5%
Casino levy divided by gross gaming revenue. Scale: 0 to the legal maximum of 80%. Source: ESBK annual report 2025.
Land-based casinos start higher. Article 114 VGS sets 40% on the first CHF 10 million and adds 0.5 points for each further million, also up to 80%. In 2025 land-based casinos paid 46.6% on average and online operations 42.5%.
Article 86: the blocklist of unlicensed sites
Online gaming offers without a Swiss licence are blocked. Under Article 86 of the Gaming Act (BGS), the ESBK keeps a list of unlicensed online casino offers, and Swiss telecommunications providers must block access to the listed domains. Gespa, the intercantonal authority, keeps a second list for lotteries and sports betting.
The ESBK had 580 new domains blocked in 2025, almost 30% more than in 2024. Our count of the published lists shows about 2,180 domains in February 2025 and about 3,570 in August 2026: an increase of more than 60% in eighteen months.
February 25, 2025
2,180
November 25, 2025
2,670
May 26, 2026
3,400
August 25, 2026
3,570
Swiss Observer count of unique domains in each list the ESBK published, rounded to ten.
The list is one tool among several. In 2025 the ESBK carried out 28 house searches and issued 75 penal decisions under the Gaming Act. At the end of the year, 209 criminal investigations were open.
Methodology
- All revenue and levy figures come from the ESBK annual report for 2025, published in June 2026. Amounts are in Swiss francs. The table shows them as printed, without rounding.
- Shares use the total of the nine operators that were active at the end of 2025 (CHF 302,746,922), not the ESBK total, which includes two operations that closed during the year.
- Effective levy rate = casino levy ÷ gross gaming revenue. The language region is that of the land-based casino.
- The levy calculator applies Art. 115 VGS to one full calendar year, without reductions. It is a model, not an assessment.
- Blocklist counts are our own count of unique domains in the lists that the ESBK publishes in the Federal Gazette.
Sources
Primary documents and official price lists used for this report.
- ESBK: annual report 2025 (Tätigkeitsbericht 2025, PDF, German)
- ESBK: media release on the 2025 annual report
- ESBK: the casino levy (Spielbankenabgabe)
- Fedlex: Gaming Ordinance (VGS), SR 935.511, Art. 114 and 115
- Fedlex: Federal Act on Gambling (BGS), SR 935.51, Art. 86
- ESBK: blocklist of 25 August 2026 (PDF)
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Suggested citation
Swiss Observer Research (2026): ESBK Swiss Gaming Market Report 2025. https://swissobserver.com/esbk-swiss-gaming-market-report/
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