Paf and Facebook have agreed a data-sharing pilot to catch unlicensed operators advertising to Swiss players, weeks after Meta was court-summoned by Dutch trade body VNLOK.
The Paf Facebook pilot Switzerland scheme will send licence documents and URLs to Meta, covering operators and affiliates. The data lets the tech giant build a clearer picture of who is regulated and who is not. Work is due to begin next week, following Eliasson’s announcement at SBC Summit Lisbon.
- What the Pilot Will Share
- Why Switzerland, and Who Is Involved
- The Weak Points in the Swiss Model
- What Comes After the Pilot
A Paf Facebook pilot Switzerland will share licence documents and URLs with the platform that reaches Swiss players through its app. Jesper Eliasson, chief business development officer at Paf, broke the news at SBC Summit Lisbon’s Scandinavia panel. Work begins next week. The scheme targets illegal operators using Facebook and Instagram to reach Swiss players, following a Dutch court summons served on Meta by trade body VNLOK over gambling ads.
What the Paf Facebook pilot Switzerland scheme will share
Eliasson said Paf will provide data that lets Meta identify regulated operators and affiliates versus unregulated ones. The sharing covers licence documents and URLs across both groups. That is the substance of the deal: an operator that buys substantial volume on Facebook is giving the platform a verified list, rather than a complaint.
The scope also includes affiliates, which matters because much of the illegal advertising runs through third parties. Eliasson did not name who represented Facebook at the meeting, declining to speculate. He described the agreement as absolutely fresh and said both sides agreed the same day. Paf is contributing time and conversations, with no advertising budget attached.
Eliasson’s stated motivation is commercial as much as compliance. Paf invests heavily in customer acquisition on the platform, and he argues Facebook wants the same thing: illegal business off its app. The data exchange is the mechanism, with the Swiss regulator expected to be brought in as the deal develops.
Why Switzerland, and who is driving it
The choice of market is strategic. Paf owns Swiss market leader mycasino.ch, which is now worth more than €100m in annual revenue. Eliasson leads Paf’s Swiss business and worked with Wolfgang Bliem, CEO of Grand Casino Luzern, to launch the pilot. Eliasson said the model built here can be scaled to other jurisdictions.
The operator’s position in the market is substantial. mycasino.ch launched in 2019, reached €70m after 16 months, and now holds more than 30% of Swiss online gambling. Eliasson’s priority is to keep unlicensed competitors from taking share. He said he does not want an operator that has not paid for its licence, completed compliance work, or taken responsible gaming measures to split the market.
Following this, according to Eliasson, the Arden Consult model is meant to be replicated across Europe. He expects the outcome to be uncertain, but said he is confident the pilot itself represents real progress. If it falls short, Paf will rework it and find something else. The willingness to say so publicly is notable.
The weak points in the Swiss model
Bliem, speaking on an earlier panel about Austrian and Swiss regulation, outlined how the system works. Online licences are tied exclusively to land-based casinos and taxed progressively, rising from 20% to 80%. He identified two structural weak points: there is no payment blocking, and lotteries hold a monopoly over sports betting.
That monopoly sends players offshore. During major events such as the World Cup, Swiss customers turn to unlicensed sites for better odds. Eliasson added that crypto casinos exploit jurisdictions with no real enforcement teeth. In the pilot, the licence documents Paf shares are the first step in building a picture of that traffic.
Eliasson also warned against overreach. Rules that slow down games or ban titles judged too risky would not stop players, he said, because they remain free to use the internet. They would simply move to a better product elsewhere. His point is that the solution sits in enforcement and data, not in heavier product restrictions.
What comes after the pilot
The immediate task is to begin work next week and bring the Swiss regulator into the process. Eliasson wants Meta, Paf and the regulator seated together, with the operator supplying the data that makes the exercise possible. The Swiss experiment is the test case.
The longer ambition is a European precedent. Eliasson said that if the pilot succeeds, he wants to expand it into other markets. If it fails, the model is reworked rather than abandoned. Either way, Paf has committed to keeping the conversation going with Facebook, and the pilot is the first concrete step in that direction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has Paf agreed to give Meta?
Paf will share licence documents and URLs with Facebook, covering both operators and affiliates. The data lets Meta distinguish regulated activity from illegal advertising. Eliasson said the agreement was reached with Facebook representatives in Lisbon, though he did not name who they were.
What is the Paf Facebook pilot Switzerland expected to do?
The pilot aims to identify illegal operators advertising to Swiss players and build a workable enforcement model. Paf will contribute data rather than advertising spend, and the Swiss regulator is expected to join the process. Eliasson said the model will then be tested before being scaled to other jurisdictions.
Why did Paf choose Switzerland for the pilot?
Paf owns mycasino.ch, the Swiss market leader, which is worth more than €100m a year and holds over 30% of the market. Eliasson leads Paf’s Swiss business and wants to protect that position. He also sees Switzerland as a template that can be applied across Europe.
What are the weaknesses in the Swiss online gambling model?
Online licences must be tied to land-based casinos and are taxed from 20% to 80%. There is no payment blocking, and lotteries hold a sports betting monopoly that drives customers offshore for better odds. Crypto casinos also operate in gaps that Eliasson has called toothless jurisdictions.
Why not just ban the advertising outright?
Because players remain free to use the internet, Eliasson said heavy-handed product rules would only push them to a better offer elsewhere. He warned against bans on titles judged too risky. The practical route is enforcing existing rules and sharing data with the platform that runs the advertising.
This article has been thoroughly researched and reviewed by the CasinoBait editorial team to ensure accuracy and relevance for Asian casino players.
