Swiss regulator finds nearly half of underage testers could place a sports bet in shops
Switzerland's gambling supervisor, Gespa, published its 2025 evaluation of player protection at the country's two lottery operators. Mystery shopping found nearly half of 200 underage testers managed to place a sports bet in a physical outlet, with self-service terminals easier to get past than counters. Online controls were judged broadly effective.
South Africa has a large retail betting network and strict age rules on paper, so a test of how well shop controls hold up in practice is a fair question here too. The Swiss findings are not about South African operators, and nothing in them changes the rules locally. They do show why self-service terminals and age checks are worth watching. Players should remember that sports betting carries real risk of loss, and that you must be 18 or older to gamble legally in South Africa.
What the regulator reported
The Intercantonal Gambling Supervisory Authority, known as Gespa, published an evaluation of how well Swisslos and Loterie Romande protected players in 2025. The two lotteries are legally required to report each year on their protection measures, and Gespa reviews those reports independently.
The headline finding came from mystery shopping that Gespa commissioned. Nearly half of 200 underage test customers succeeded in placing a sports bet at a retail outlet. Self-service terminals let more of them through than clerk-assisted sales did.
Online versus shop sales
Online gambling made up 24% of the two operators' gross gaming revenue in 2025, with 76% coming through physical sales points. Gespa said online platforms let operators apply and measure protections more precisely than shops can.
Sports betting stayed the highest-risk product, with the highest average losses and the largest share of players losing more than CHF2,000 in a month. Gespa also pointed to features such as cash-out, which it said may encourage impulsive play or give players a false sense of control.
Limits, bans and fixes
Both lotteries apply monthly loss ceilings and a CHF10,000 monthly deposit limit. Few players reached them: 82 Swisslos players, or 0.23% of those under a CHF2,000 cap, and 160 Loterie Romande players, or 1%. Swisslos issued 76 gambling bans in 2025, up from 39, and Loterie Romande issued 65. Many bans followed requests from players themselves.
Gespa and the operators are discussing identity scanners for self-service terminals. Swisslos lowered the maximum monthly loss limit for Sporttip customers aged 18 to 21 to CHF1,000 in March 2026.
What it means for South African players
This is a Swiss story and it does not alter anything for South African players. It is useful as a reference point: age checks at the point of sale are only as good as the checking, and testing them with real attempts reveals gaps that annual reports can miss.
If you gamble, use the limit and self-exclusion tools your operator offers, and treat any bet as entertainment you can afford to lose. Help is available through the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation.
What to watch next
Watch for the identity scanner talks at Swiss self-service terminals. Swisslos also plans a 2026 to 2027 research project on the behaviour of banned players, and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office is running a national gambling survey in 2026, with results due in 2027.