Liechtenstein’s gambling story is remarkable for its speed and scale: a microstate of under 40,000 people that had no modern casinos, then licensed around five within a few years and earned the nickname ‘Las Vegas of the Alps.’ Land-based casinos are legal, popular and a real contributor to state finances, but online gambling remains frozen under a moratorium to 2028. The culture is pragmatic rather than glitzy: much of the play comes from cross-border visitors, and in 2023 residents voted decisively to keep casinos rather than ban them.

A very recent history

Unlike Monaco or Baden-Baden, Liechtenstein has no long casino tradition. For most of its modern history it had no casinos at all. The Gambling Act (Geldspielgesetz), in force since 2011, opened the door, and a later permit reform moved to an entitlement-based model: meet the statutory criteria and you are generally entitled to a licence. The result was a boom, with roughly five state-approved casinos operating in recent years - one of the densest casino footprints in Europe relative to population. Regional media captured public unease about whether so many casinos were too many for such a small place.

The 2023 referendum: attitudes on display

The rapid expansion triggered a backlash. A citizens’ initiative gathered the required signatures and forced a constitutional referendum on 29 January 2023 that sought to ban casinos. Voters rejected the ban decisively - about 73% voted no - keeping the casinos open. The vote showed a country weighing the fiscal upside of casino revenue against social concerns, and choosing to keep the industry with continued regulation rather than shut it down.

Slot machines are the mainstay of the casino floor, complemented by live table games such as roulette, blackjack and poker. A large share of players are cross-border visitors, historically including Swiss residents - which is part of why Switzerland and Liechtenstein agreed in January 2025 to share their player self-exclusion (gambling-ban) lists, so that someone banned in one country is recognised as banned in the other. For lotteries and sports betting, residents commonly use Swiss operators such as Swisslos and its Sporttip sports-betting brand, which are available in Liechtenstein.

Money, tax and the state

Casino gaming is a meaningful contributor to Liechtenstein’s public finances through the Geldspielabgabe, a levy operators pay on gross gaming revenue. For players, gambling and lottery proceeds are generally exempt from personal income tax where that gambling tax (or an equivalent foreign tax) has already been paid on them, so winnings from domestic casinos are effectively untaxed. Casino revenues have been volatile in recent years, and the government has floated higher levy rates, underlining how important - and contested - the sector’s contribution to the budget has become.

Attitudes today

Liechtenstein’s approach is pragmatic. It embraced land-based casinos and the revenue they bring, defended them at the ballot box, yet kept online gambling firmly on hold under a moratorium to the end of 2028 and tightened cross-border player protection with Switzerland. The picture is of a small, wealthy country comfortable hosting a large casino sector for visitors, while moving cautiously on the online frontier.

Gambling is 18+. Play only for entertainment, never to make money or chase losses, and seek help if it stops being fun.

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