Player plays on his own machine and has to pay a fine

A few days ago, a case was heard in the Kulm District Court that is reminiscent of a long-forgotten time – the Corona period. According to the prosecution, the case is said to have happened as follows in spring 2020: The 41-year-old defendant invited a total of seven friends to his hobby room. However, there were two slot machines here where real money could be used and won.

A little later, when the Aargau cantonal police broke up the event due to the applicable contact restrictions, the slot machines were discovered, for which the organizer now had to answer in court.

Swiss Casino Commission demanded 56,000 francs

The Federal Casino Commission (ESKB) then demanded 56,000 francs from the 41-year-old as part of a penalty order. The reason: The man violated the Gambling Act by allowing third parties access to gambling without permission.

Since the defendant did not have the money he demanded, he objected and the case went to trial. According to his own statements, the man was addicted to gambling until four or five years ago. Today he only visits the casino in Bregenz once a year. About a year ago there was an article on GambleJoe about how more and more Swiss people are having gambling problems despite the new gambling law.

Gambling addict bought two slot machines to indulge his addiction

What is interesting is the defendant’s explanation that he himself bought the slot machines in his hobby room for 800 francs. He used this to live out his addiction. He also played on one of the slot machines on the day of the crime. The defendant’s friends confirmed in court that the 41-year-old sometimes spent hours playing his own slot machines. At no point were the other guests encouraged to play the slot machines. Since these were his own slot machines, the defendant of course also had the keys and was able to open the money compartment. As a result, he could reuse his bet as he wished, allowing him to play for hours without effectively losing or winning any money.

Nevertheless, according to the court, the offense was fulfilled because the Swiss made the slot machines available to a third party ready to play. Ultimately, the court sentenced the defendant to a fine of 770 francs. In addition, the court reduced the Federal Casino Commission’s claim for compensation to 360 francs instead of 56,000 francs. Just a few weeks ago we reported on GambleJoe that Casino Baden was rightly sanctioned because of poor player protection.