Bwin.party warned by Swiss government over branding
Economic Affairs department warns Gibraltar-based subsidiary Electra Works over use of Swiss coat of arms on site
Bwin.party has been warned by the Swiss government over use of the country’s coat of arms as part of the branding on its SCasino.com site.
The Swiss Casino gaming site, which uses the country’s coat of arms as part of its logo, is operated by bwin.party’s Gibraltar-based operating subsidiary ElectraWorks and also features the marketing slogan ‘Experience Swiss Quality’.
Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) called the use of the Swiss coat of arms “deceiving and misleading”, and added there is a violation of both the Federal Act against Unfair Competition and the Federal Act on the Protection of the Swiss Coat of Arms.
Under current law operating gambling games on the internet is illegal in Switzerland. SECO said on its website that the games offered on the website have never been approved by the Swiss Federal Gaming Board.
“The website is not connected in any way to Switzerland even though the use of the Swiss coat of arms and numerous references to Switzerland falsely create that impression,” it said in a statement. However it added that since the companies have no legal representation in Switzerland, the companies “cannot be held accountable at the present time”.
Earlier this year the Swiss Federal Council said it could be open to allowing online gambling “under certain conditions”. It is currently working with representatives at federal and state level with the ultimate goal of bringing all real-money gambling in the country under a single law.
In February an independent association for egaming operators looking to have their say on the potential of a regulated Swiss egaming market was formed by Zurich-based consultancy Richterich & Partner.