Switzerland’s Federal Gaming Board and cantonal police carried out searches across several cantons over a few days in an operation targeting illegal gambling. The source text says the authorities seized items but does not provide further details because the report is truncated.
The searches and seizures concern enforcement against illegal gambling operations in Switzerland.
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Zurich cantonal police inspected an unauthorised gambling venue in Pfäffikon overnight between Saturday and Sunday under orders from the Federal Gaming Board and the See/Oberland prosecutor, the authorities said. Officers seized computers, mobile phones, other electronic devices and documents for investigation. Two Turkish nationals linked to the venue’s management were questioned and are to be reported to the relevant authorities.
Zurich cantonal police searched an illegal poker venue in Opfikon on 28 October on behalf of the Swiss Federal Gaming Board, according to a report. Officers found about 60 people playing poker and seized around CHF15,000 in cash, along with tables, chips, electronic equipment and documents. The inspection also uncovered immigration and employment irregularities, including three people working without the required authorisation.
Zurich cantonal police searched an illegal poker venue in Opfikon on the evening of Wednesday 28 October, acting on behalf of the Swiss Federal Gaming Board (ESBK), according to a report. Officers found about 60 people playing poker at premises on Flughofstrasse and seized around CHF15,000 in cash, along with poker tables, chips, electronic equipment and documents.
Zurich cantonal police, acting on instructions from Switzerland’s Federal Gaming Board (ESBK), uncovered alleged illegal gambling at a cultural club in Zwillikon during a check on the night of 26–27 June, according to police. Officers stopped a poker game involving about 10 players and another card game with cash stakes; they seized cash, computers and mobile phones. The club manager is to be reported to the competent authorities.
Switzerland’s Federal Gaming Board and cantonal police interrupted an unauthorised poker event in Glattbrugg on 16 April 2026, according to a media report. Authorities found about 60 people at the venue and seized around CHF55,000, €6,500 and gaming equipment; the board opened criminal proceedings against a person suspected of organising the event.
A legal analysis published in October 2026 describes illegal gambling in Switzerland as involving professionally organised structures, sometimes linked to criminal groups. The article cites a Zurich cantonal prosecutor’s investigation that found one network generated more than CHF300m in turnover over several years; Switzerland’s Federal Council had identified gambling as exposed to money-laundering and organised-crime risks in its national strategy adopted on 19 December 2025.
Illegal gambling in Switzerland involves professional and sometimes highly organised structures with links to criminality, according to a legal analysis by Bern lawyer Karin Marti published in the October 2026 issue of the legal journal Zeitschrift für Wett- und Glücksspielrecht. A Zurich cantonal prosecutor's investigation found that a single criminal network generated turnover of more than CHF300m over several years through the organisation of illegal games, Marti wrote. According to the analysis, that figure may represent only part of the actual market in a country of about nine million inhabitants.