During 2020, the international COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic led to lockdowns, curfews, and temporary closures of public spaces across the globe. As a result, online activity increased significantly.
This is why many people have turned to the web for entertainment, particularly in legal online casinos in Switzerland .
This trend has also been observed in the world of gambling. Recent tax revenue figures for online casinos licensed in Switzerland have just proven this point once again.
They report a sharp increase of almost 30% between 2019 and 2020.
Tax revenues of 1.9% from the sector in 2019
The Swiss online casino market was legalized on January 1, 2019, when a law came into effect. This law is one of the most restrictive in the world. Indeed, it only allows land-based establishments located in the country to apply for and obtain an online casino license.
Six casinos received this valuable authorization in 2019, three in 2020, and two in 2021. On Thursday, January 13, Gamrfirst became the eleventh legal online casino in Switzerland. It was launched by the prestigious Casino Barrière in Montreux.
2019 was not only the first year for the Swiss market, but also the last before the onset of the global health crisis. During this crisis, online casinos generated only 7 million Swiss francs in tax revenue for the federal government and cantons. This represents only 1.9% of the sector overall.
>>> Also read: » Montreux Casino goes online «
Legal online casinos in Switzerland represent 28% of the sector in 2020
Due to Covid-19, 2020 was marked by temporary closures of land-based gambling establishments in Switzerland. It was therefore a much better year for the country’s online casinos, as many Swiss players naturally turned to them to try to win at roulette, blackjack , or slot machines, among other games.
Thus, their tax revenue in 2020 reached no less than 78 million Swiss francs , which represents a result more than 10 times higher than the previous year . Online casinos then represented 28% of the sector overall.
Despite this impressive figure, the casino sector, which includes both land-based and online casinos, has been particularly hard hit by the health crisis. Tax revenues decreased by approximately 25%, from 374 million Swiss francs in 2019 to 276 million in 2020.
Lower taxes online
Regarding the taxation imposed on the sector in Switzerland, it should be noted that to facilitate their entry into the market, the law has been quite generous with online casinos. Indeed, the latter are only taxed 20% on the first 3 million francs of gross gaming revenue. In contrast, land-based establishments must pay out 40% of their gross gaming revenue up to 10 million francs.
Then, regardless of whether they are online or offline, casinos must pay an additional 0.50% tax for every additional million Swiss francs up to a maximum of 80%.
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