Gaming News

Swiss Lessons In Taking A Chance On Super Casinos

SWITZERLAND -- As reported by the Guardian: "Perched on top of a cliff, with a sweeping view over the Aare river, is one of Switzerland's newest casinos - the Allegro. The casino in the Swiss capital Berne is not hard to spot. Above it, a large sign with the German word Kursaal - spa or gaming hall - illuminates the night sky.

"As Britain prepares to reform its gaming industry, and introduce super-casinos, it could do worse than look at how the Swiss have just done it.

"Today the government is likely to announce how many new casinos can be built.

"For most of the past 70 years casinos have been illegal in Switzerland. This changed a decade ago when the Swiss approved a controversial referendum to allow a new round of casinos to be built. In the past two years, some 19 casinos have sprung up across Switzerland's mountainous cantons - including the Allegro, which opened in July 2002.

"The Swiss casinos are different from others around the world in one crucial respect. They have a "social concept" - which means that they are obliged by law to do something about the small but stubborn minority of "problem" or "pathological" gamblers who often lose all their money.

"…Faced with the need to tackle problem customers, the casinos turned to Jörg Häfeli, a professor from the University of Applied Sciences in Lucerne who specialises in addictive behaviour.

"Prof Häfeli came up with a plan: casino staff would be taught to identify problem gamblers as early as possible. They would offer them professional counselling. In extreme cases, the management would also ban gamblers from every casino in Switzerland - an imperfect solution given Switzerland's proximity to Germany and France, and the easy availability of other forms of gambling, but better than nothing.

"…The system appears to work: to get into the Allegro casino, which is upstairs in Berne's four-star Allegro hotel, you have to show your passport. If you are on a list of banned gamblers, they don't let you in…"

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