Get informed about the fees charged when you use Swiss credit cards to pay for gambling purchases in this guide.
Gambling is generally not recommended because the risk of losing money is very high. Additionally, many games of luck have high addictive potential. But if you do enjoy occasionally visiting a casino or online casino, or playing other games of luck, it is important that you are aware of credit card gambling fees.
1. What are gambling fees?
Most Swiss credit card issuers charge you a fee when you use your credit card or prepaid card to pay for gambling services. This fee is generally equal to the cash advance fee which you pay when you withdraw money at ATMs using your credit card or prepaid card. You can find these on the card info pages in the credit card comparison and prepaid card comparison.
If you make many smaller transactions (frequently loading small amounts to an online casino, for example), the gambling fees can add up to a significant cost.
2. Which Swiss issuers charge gambling fees?
Nearly all Swiss credit card issuers charge fees for gambling transactions. Fees vary between credit card issuers. In exceptional cases, gambling fees may be different across different cards from the same issuer. That is the case with the Coop Supercard credit card, which has a different gambling fee than other credit cards from Topcard.
Swiss credit cards: Gambling fees compared
| Card issuer | Credit cards | Fee for lotteries, casinos, and other games of luck |
|---|---|---|
| Bonuscard | Bonuscard, Libertycard | 3.75% |
| Cembra Money Bank | Certo, IKEA Family, Cembra Mastercard | 3.75% |
| Cornèrcard | Cornèrcard credit cards, Diners Club, Baloise Bank, LLB (Bank Linth) |
3.75%, minimum CHF 10 |
| Migros Bank | Migros Cumulus credit card Migros Bank credit cards |
3.5%, minimum CHF 8 |
| Raiffeisen | Raiffeisen credit cards | No gambling fees |
| Postfinance | Postfinance credit cards | 3.50%, maximum CHF 100 |
| Swisscard | Cashback, American Express, Swiss Miles & More |
4%, minimum CHF 10 |
| Topcard | Coop Supercard Visa/Mastercard | 3.75%, maximum CHF 100 |
| Topcard | Other Topcard credit cards | 4%, maximum CHF 100 |
| UBS | UBS and Key4 credit cards | 4%, maximum CHF 100 |
| Valiant | Valiant credit cards | No gambling fees |
| Viseca | Cantonal banks, Bank Cler | 4%, minimum CHF 10 (no gambling fees for Platinum cards) |
3. Do credit card gambling fees also apply to Swiss lotteries?
Purchases from the two major Swiss lotteries, Loterie Romande and Swisslos, are exempted gambling fees across all Swiss credit card issuers. But credit card gambling fees apply to all other Swiss games of luck.
4. Do I earn credit card rewards for gambling purchases?
Swiss credit card issuers generally exclude purchases related to games of luck from their reward programs. That means you are not rewarded with points, airline miles, or cash back for these purchases.
5. Which fees apply to purchases from foreign gambling establishments?
When you use your Swiss credit card to pay at casinos or to buy lottery tickets outside of Switzerland, you pay both gambling fees and credit card foreign transaction fees. You also pay an additional hidden fee in the form of markups on currency exchange rates. These costs also apply when you use your credit card to pay for online gambling purchases from foreign merchants.
6. Which payment method should I use for games of luck?
Ideally, you should pay in cash or with a debit card, as those payment methods do not have special gambling fees. Many Swiss casinos also accept Twint. For online purchases from foreign gambling services, debit cards from Swiss neobanks that have favorable currency exchange rates are the most suitable payment method.
More on this topic:
Compare Swiss credit cards now
Compare Swiss prepaid cards now
Swiss credit card foreign transaction fees explained
Markups for credit card payments explained
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