Meanwhile tourism is an important part of the Swiss economy and the Alpine climate, landscapes and skiing pull in around nine million tourists each year and this sector accounts for around 2.9 per cent of Switzerland’s GDP.
Total revenue from the tourism industry is around CHF47.8bn of which CHF15.7bn comes from foreign tourists. Tere are some 5,000 hotels and health establishments with 273,500 beds plus 28,800 restaurants.
Some 45 per cent of the tourism revenues come from accommodation, meals and transportation. Tere were a total of 35 million overnight stays last year of which 19.5 million were from abroad with America, Asia, Germany, the UK and France making up the majority.
THE GAMBLING MARKET Switzerland has long been recognised as a
wealthy nation and its gambling industry is strictly regulated with one of the highest densities of casinos per capita in the world.
Gambling was officially banned in Switzerland in 1921 and this lasted until 1993. During this time there was also a ban on lotteries and gambling houses although lotteries were later given authorisation to operate within some cantons if revenues were given to public benefit charities. Tis saw the 1923 Lottery Act introduced which was later extended to include sports betting.
Te Casino Act was introduced in 1998 which was made possible by a constitutional amendment which lifted the ban on casinos. It also included provisions for problem gambling which meant the identity and age of gamblers had to be checked at casinos whilst an exclusion programme was introduced for those with financial problems, which permitted staff to check bank statements of gamblers if required.
On the other hand gambling in the Swiss market remains fairly liberal. Advertising is permitted and as such the casino market in particular has thrived. Apparently one fifth of Swiss citizens are now classed as frequent gamblers and more
than half the population play the lottery.
Te gambling sector is divided into two main categories – firstly lotteries and betting games and secondly casinos. Te Lotteries and Betting sectors are supervised by authorities in the various cantons and based on the Lotteries and Betting Law 1993 and monitored by Comlot, the Swiss Lottery and Betting Board.
Te Lotteries and Betting sector saw a GGR of CHF996m in 2014 with a drop to CHF896m in 2015. Tis sector distributes income to public causes and in 2014 dished out around CHF600m.
Casinos meanwhile come under the responsibility of the federal state and are regulated by the Casino Law. Casinos are private companies and operate under federal concessions for 20 years. Te sector is governed by the Federal Gaming Board (Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission ESBK) and the casinos pay income tax. GGR for this sector was CHF710m in 2014 and CHF681.2m in 2015. Te
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