Switzerland has one of the world’s highest densities of casinos. Soon two more will be added to the 19 others that already exist, bringing in even more funds to the public coffers. But society foots the bill for gambling addiction.
As a nation, the Swiss are very partial to a flutter: in 2011, lotteries, betting and gambling earned the gaming industry over SFr1.7 billion ($1.78 billion).
Gaming represents a highly lucrative source of income, in Switzerland.
Last year, taxes on casinos yielded SFr360 million francs to the federal coffers, while SFr60 million were turned over to the cantons.
The gross profit from gaming (the difference between bets and wins) was SFr824 million.
Swisslos and Loterie Romande, the two non-profit associations that run lotteries and some gambling in Switzerland, paid out Sfr557 million to the cantons as well as social, cultural, research and sports projects.
But there is the other side of the coin – when gambling becomes more than a simple pastime.
According to the 2007 Swiss Health Survey, 85,000 people have a problem with gambling and 35,000 can be considered compulsive gamblers.
Compulsive gambling can lead to mental and physical problems, stress at home often ending in divorce, absenteeism, indebtedness and suicidal tendencies.
According to research published in 2012 by Neuchâtel University’s Institute of Economic Research, the social cost of compulsive gambling is estimated to between SFr545 million and SFr658 million.
Given these figures, is legalised gambling economic madness?
Prohibition would probably not solve the problem, as suggested by experience with drug use.
And the issue is not on the government agenda.
In fact, two new casinos are due to open their doors in Neuchâtel and Zurich.
Federal gambling legislation, which came into force in 2000, prescribes a “social component”.
This means that casino managers are required to adopt measures to “prevent or discourage socially harmful consequences of gambling”.
They must ban people who are heavily indebted or who make disproportionately risky bets.
At the end of 2011, 32,410 people were banned from entering casinos.
According to Nicolas Bonvin, president of the Ticino group for the prevention of gambling addiction, the barring provisions, which apply to all Swiss casinos, have proved effective.
The number of those banned from the gaming tables and slot machines is about 3,000 a year.
The casinos are not the only players in this game.
According to the Swiss Health Survey, 80 per cent of those suffering from gambling addiction problems don’t restrict themselves to casinos.
Along with online casinos, which are completely uncontrolled, there are lotteries, scratch-and-win cards, sports betting and other temptations.
The above two associations have put programmes in place to raise awareness among news agents and café owners who have electronic scratch-and-win machines installed on their premises.
Some of these issues could soon be a thing of the past.
By accepting a new constitutional article, Swiss voters took a first step to overhaul gambling legislation.
An amendment is being drafted at the moment and in the near future, lotteries and betting operations will probably have to do more to counter compulsive gambling.
Source: swissinfo.ch
