2024 - SRF Undercover in the poker club: Illegal gambling in Switzerland? -News

The hidden camera is running. With 300 francs in his pocket, the reporter enters the “Full Ring” poker club. Only a few players are sitting at one of the tables in the industrial district of Wallisellen. According to the website, the game is played “without investing any money”. The first game is actually free. The undercover reporter soon runs out of chips.

At the bar he is told that he can buy badges from the man in the hoodie. At the table, the so-called dealer then exchanges the plaques for chips. The reporter plays with chips worth 300 francs. Others have significantly more. Each round the dealer takes a few chips from the middle of the table. Collecting a gaming fee every time, the so-called “rake”, is not allowed.

After a few hours the reporter had seen enough. The man in the hoodie exchanges the badges back for cash. At this moment, the hidden camera documents how a new guest gives the hooded man a 1,000-franc note to change. Gambling for such sums would be clearly prohibited.

Outside the bar, a player says he has already lost 800 francs today. But the night is not over yet. He plays poker for a living, but he’s currently having a streak of bad luck. This month alone he lost 12,000 francs.

Outside of licensed casinos, only so-called “small poker tournaments” are permitted. These require cantonal approval.
At “small poker tournaments” in the canton of Zurich, the upper limit for stakes is 200 francs per tournament and 300 francs per day.
A participation fee for the club must be clearly separated from the game amount.
A protection concept must protect players from excessive gambling.

Licensed casinos are exempt from these rules. This is regulated by the new gambling law, which has been in force since 2019. Previously, poker games for money were prohibited.

“What goes on in the poker club is not permitted”

Attorney Manuel Bader represents people who have lost large amounts of money playing illegal online poker. He looks at the covertly filmed footage: “What’s going on is not permitted,” says the lawyer about the game in the “Full Ring”. Because: The upper limit of 300 francs per evening and 200 francs per game is exceeded. If the stakes are higher, a casino license is required. The club also collects a fee for every round played. That doesn’t work without a concession either. According to the gambling expert’s assessment, this is “illegal gambling”.

Gambling addiction can destroy livelihoods

Simon was addicted to gambling for 30 years, his actual name is different. He estimates he lost two and a half million francs playing poker and other games of chance. This was possible thanks to a good job and loans from the bank and friends. “I’ve been clean for about three years,” says Simon. He still has to pay off 350,000 francs of debt. He also gambled away at the “Full Ring” in Wallisellen: “I left 4,000 francs there one evening.”

“Gambling addiction is a serious, medically recognized illness,” says Domenic Schnoz. He is the overall director of the Center for Gambling Addiction and Other Behavioral Addictions at the Swiss Health Foundation Radix.

“Those affected cannot simply stop; they feel an extremely strong urge to play.” This is often associated with other psychological problems.

“Life revolves around playing and getting money,” says Schnoz. Illegal clubs are particularly a problem for addicts, as you can bet almost unlimited amounts there and there are usually no player protection measures in place.

“The risk of developing a gambling addiction there is high,” says the expert. Domenic Schnoz advises people who notice signs of gambling addiction in themselves or their relatives to seek professional support as quickly as possible. The self-test is also helpful www.safer-gambling.ch.

“Main character” wants nothing to do with the poker club

The president of the Swiss Poker Sport Association (SPSA) is behind the “Full Ring” club. Sascha Kouba tells SRF Investigativ that he has nothing to do with the club. He just rents out the space. But in 2019 it sounded completely different at a recorded scene meeting: “I’m Sascha Kouba. To some, at least certainly in the region, I am known as the main character of the Full Ring poker club. In his statement, Kouba writes: “If you are really right and ‘Full Ring’ is not operating within the law, we would not tolerate it.”

Legend:

“Full Ring” club president Alexandre Touihri (l.) and SPSA association president Sascha Kouba.

SRF

But SRF Investigativ knows that administrative criminal proceedings are ongoing against him and two other people for organizing games of chance outside licensed casinos on multiple occasions – according to the criminal order, “committed” in 2017. In the criminal order, which is available to SRF Investigative, witnesses describe the same process as him the undercover reporter now documented. Sascha Kouba challenged the penalty order. It is the presumption of innocence.

SRF Investigative filmed covertly for this research because this was the only way to verify evidence of illegal gambling. We also spoke to dozens of people from the poker scene and were given access to accounting documents and penalty notices. But public websites and social media also provided important information about the allegedly illegal poker games.