Nearly half of underage testers bet at Swiss outlets

Switzerland’s two lottery operators made a combined CHF814m net profit in 2025.

The hit

Swiss gambling regulator Gespa says nearly half of 200 underage test customers managed to place a sports bet at a retail outlet. Self-service terminals proved more permissive than clerk-assisted sales, according to Gespa’s 2025 evaluation of operators Swisslos & Loterie Romande.

Why it matters

The finding exposes a gap between broadly effective online betting controls & weak checks at physical shops, where most sales happen. Sports betting already carries the highest losses & skews young & male, a group Gespa flags as more vulnerable to harm. Weak retail age checks mean underage access risk sits exactly where the product is riskiest.

The record

Underage test success rate	Nearly half of 200 underage testers placed a sports bet at retail (Gespa)
Online share of revenue	24% of combined gross gaming revenue; 76% from physical outlets (Gespa)
Combined operator profit 2025	CHF814m, down 4.7% from CHF854m in 2024 (Gespa)
Swisslos gambling bans	76 imposed in 2025, up from 39 in 2024 (Gespa)
Loterie Romande gambling bans	65 imposed in 2025, compared with 56 in 2024 (Gespa)
Under-21 loss limit change	Swisslos cut Sporttip monthly cap to CHF1,000 for 18-21s, March 2026 (Gespa)

What happens next

Gespa & the operators are discussing technical fixes, including identity scanners for self-service terminals. Swisslos plans to join a 2026-27 research project on banned-player behaviour, & a national gambling survey from the Federal Office of Statistics reports in 2027.

Sources: Nearly half of underage testers placed sports bets at Swiss outlets

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