Switzerland licensed gambling sites: ESBK and Gespa explained

A search for legal gambling sites in Switzerland can lead to the wrong register unless the product is defined first. The Federal Gaming Board, also known as the FGB or ESBK, supervises Swiss casinos. Gespa supervises large-scale lotteries, sports betting and other intercantonal gambling. Neither authority publishes a universal brand list covering the other's product branch.

For online casino play, the current FGB page is the direct starting point. It names 10 casinos with an operating online platform and links each casino to one exact consumer domain. For online sports betting and large-scale lotteries, the relevant Gespa material points to Swisslos and Loterie Romande. Atlas therefore records 12 positive relationships, but does not present them as 12 equivalent licences or mix them with blocked-domain records.

The FGB explains that a Swiss casino needs an extension to its casino licence from the Federal Council before it can offer gambling online. The casino also needs FGB approval for each game before that game goes live. A row on the operating-platform page therefore connects a licensed land-based casino, its online extension and a named website; it is not a free-standing approval for every domain owned by a wider group.

That structure is visible in the official table. Casino Baden is connected to jackpots.ch, Casino Luzern to mycasino.ch and Casino Pfäffikon to online.swisscasinos.ch. The newest entries are Casino Mendrisio with admiral.ch from 16 July 2025 and Casino Locarno with casineo.ch from 17 March 2026. The page still contained 10 platform rows when Atlas rechecked it on 26 August 2026.

The consumer name often differs from the licensed casino. Someone searching for StarVegas, 7melons or Pasino will see a brand or domain, while the authority table identifies Casino Interlaken, Casino Bern or Casino Meyrin as the casino behind it. This is why a list copied from search results can lose the legal entity relationship even when every domain is spelled correctly.

Atlas keeps the casino and consumer domain in separate fields. It also preserves the online start date. That date is useful evidence of when the platform entered the official operating list, but it is not a promise that every game has been approved since that day. Individual games remain subject to FGB approval.

Gespa's sports-betting page names the two lottery organisations, Loterie Romande and Swisslos. They offer sports betting under the product names Jouez Sport and Sporttip, both online and through retail outlets. Gespa also says that it sets compulsory limits on betting options to reduce manipulation risk.

The regional split matters. Swisslos operates in the German- and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland, while Loterie Romande serves the French-speaking cantons. A foreign sportsbook licence, an FGB online casino relationship or a Swiss casino domain does not replace this Gespa evidence. The product and territory must be checked independently.

Gespa's lottery guidance says that large-scale lotteries may be run exclusively by Swisslos in the German- and Italian-speaking cantons and by Loterie Romande in the French-speaking cantons. Both organisations sell lottery products online as well as through physical outlets, and Gespa licenses and supervises those large-scale lotteries.

That does not turn every Swisslos or Loterie Romande product into sports betting, or every sports-betting permission into a casino permission. Atlas groups the organisations in one relationship because both product categories are evidenced, then retains sportsbook and lottery as separate categories.

The FGB and Gespa both publish domain blocklists, but those lists answer an enforcement question. Both authorities replaced their previous editions on 25 August 2026. The FGB's accompanying chart now records 3,567 blocked domains, and Gespa's current PDF has expanded from 32 pages in the 11 June edition to 34 pages. Swiss internet providers implement the resulting DNS restrictions.

A domain appearing on a current blocklist is strong negative evidence for the named website. The reverse is not valid: a domain missing from a blocklist has not thereby gained a casino licence, Gespa authorisation or operating agreement. To verify a legal site, use the positive FGB platform list or the relevant Gespa product record first.

Gespa's April 2026 position says prediction markets are trading platforms whose contracts generally fall within gambling and specifically betting. Swiss law only allows authorisation for bets on the outcome or course of sporting events. A product presented as trading, forecasting or an event contract does not escape that product test merely because it avoids the sportsbook label.

The authority also says Swisslos and Loterie Romande retain the online sports-betting monopoly in their respective language regions and that foreign providers offering betting into Switzerland are illegal. The 25 August Gespa blocklist contains newly ordered prediction-market-themed domains, but each entry remains domain-level enforcement evidence; it should not be expanded into a claim about every similarly named company, application or global service.

Begin with the exact activity: online casino, poker, lottery or sports betting. For casino games, open the FGB online-gambling page and match the consumer domain to the named Swiss casino. Then confirm that the product itself is within the approved game scope. For sports betting or a large-scale lottery, use Gespa and identify the organisation, product brand and regional territory.

If the site is absent from the positive source, check both authorities' current blocklists and any published decisions, but keep the conclusion narrow. Record not listed or under review unless the authority supplies stronger evidence. Save the URL, the source publication date and the day of the check.

An official operator relationship does not mean every visitor can open an account or use every product. Location, identity checks, payment controls, individual game approval and gambling-exclusion rules still apply independently of the directory match.

The register check answers a narrower question: whether the authority currently connects this casino or organisation to the named online activity. It does not endorse promotions, settle a dispute or replace the platform's current terms.

Atlas counted rows, not logos. The FGB source contains 10 casino-to-domain records. The Gespa sources identify two lottery organisations that also offer sports betting. Combining them produces 12 source-backed relationships across two regulatory branches, not one league table of interchangeable gambling companies.

This method also prevents three common errors: counting a casino and its domain as separate licensees, treating Sporttip and Swisslos as unrelated operators, or using a casino approval to support sports betting. The published table makes each unit visible so another researcher can reproduce the count.

This guide was checked on 26 August 2026 and is an editorial research resource, not legal advice. The positive lists, game approvals and blocklists can change after a licence decision, platform launch, domain migration or enforcement action. The authority's newest record controls if it conflicts with this page.

Atlas will recheck the guide within 30 days and earlier if the FGB adds an online casino platform or either Swiss authority publishes a material list update. The Switzerland country profile and worldwide regulator directory provide the broader market context; the licence checker is the fastest route back to the primary source.