Responsible gambling
StarVegas is supposed to be fun. We don’t want fun to turn into compulsive gambling, and we place great importance on preventing gambling addiction.
On this page, we have put together information to help you gamble responsibly. We invite you to get to know and use these opportunities for self-control and reflection on your own gambling behaviour so that you can have lots of fun while minimising risks.
Do you have any questions about responsible gambling? You can reach us quickly and easily at playsafe@starvegas.ch.
Player Protection Department
We stand for the protection of our players. We have a social concept that provides you with opportunities for self-control and reflection on your own gambling behaviour. We are here for you.
Player Protection Department – Who are we?
We value gambling addiction prevention and safe, responsible gambling. That’s why StarVegas has a Player Protection Department. Our primary goal is to protect your health. We support you in this, often behind the scenes. But we are also here for you personally and directly. Whether you need support or simply have a question, you can reach our Player Protection Team quickly and easily at playsafe@starvegas.ch. Try it out: what can we do for you?
Player Protection Department – What do we do?
In order to be able to verifiably exclude the possibility of a reason for suspending your account based on your financial situation or your gambling activity, we carry out checks (including creditworthiness checks) based on the legal provisions in the Federal Gaming Act, Art. 80 BGS, which applies to all Swiss casinos.
In order to protect you from the potential negative consequences of gambling online, we carefully monitor whether we see any risks in your gambling behaviour. Depending on the risk profile discovered, we carry out a corresponding clarification. We will contact you in this case. This is common practice for all Swiss online casinos. It is possible that we will request various kinds of proof from you: proof of income and assets, extract from the debt collection register, bank account statements and, if applicable, tax documents. Our aim is to use the documentation to check whether your income and assets are in line with your stakes and/or whether you are meeting your financial obligations in order to protect yourself from the possible dangers of gambling. If we have concerns, we will take appropriate action to do our job of protecting our players.
We are aware that we request private and confidential documents for the verification process. But rest assured: your data is safe with us because we work with the highest standards in data protection (ISO 27001 certification).
Gambling addiction – Protect yourself
When you become addicted to gambling, you lose control of what you are doing, but you may not realise it for a long time. Learn more about the characteristics of gambling addiction and what you can do about it.
The three stages of gambling addiction
When you become addicted to gambling, you lose control of what you are doing, but you may not realise it for a long time. So be vigilant and pay attention to the warning signs.
1. The adventure phase
Big wins can give the illusion that your skilful gambling has brought success. This thinking is dangerous because it creates unrealistic expectations for future games and you then take too many risks.
Never forget that it is gambling. Anything you bet can be lost. Only chance decides.
2. The losing phase
To recoup losses, you take out a loan or borrow money privately. You convince yourself that you can get the debt under control. But that’s also an illusion.
Never gamble with borrowed money!
3. Despair
You have invested a lot of time and money in gambling, and it has dominated your everyday life for a long time. Little by little, you lose family, friends, work and eventually your self-esteem.
Get help! Asking for help shows strength, not weakness.
Gamble with a clear head
- Do not drink alcohol while playing. It increases your willingness to take risks.
- Monitor your gambling time and take regular breaks.
- Set sensible limits and never play with borrowed money.
- Balance your gambling by doing other activities.
My player protection» – Your insight
Keep track of your gambling activity
In your player profile under «My player protection» you will find a whole section that can support you with your personal self-control:
- Statistics on your gambling behaviour – updated daily and over the last six months.
- Overview of bet totals, playing times, wins and losses.
- A reality check on your gambling activity.
- Personalised suggestions and messages depending on your gambling behaviour.
Am I at risk?
We recommend that you also complete our self-test under «My player protection». Answer the questions honestly and spontaneously – it only takes a few minutes.
If you are unsure whether there is a problem with your gambling behaviour or you have concerns about your gambling activity, it is important that you talk to someone about it. You can reach our team via email at playsafe@starvegas.ch or via the contact form on the website. You are of course also welcome to call us during the support hours from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CET +41 33 826 03 11 or contact us in the chat.
You can keep your losses under control by setting limits
Monitor the amounts of money you wager. Never try to recoup losses by placing further bets. Limits will help you with that.
Loss limit: Set maximum losses for specific time periods. When you have reached the defined limit, you cannot place any more bets.
Deposit limit: Determine in advance the maximum amount you can deposit into your gaming account per day, week or month.
You can combine multiple limits, with at least one loss limit required. A reduction in your limit takes effect immediately. For your safety and in accordance with legal provisions (Art. 87 (4) VGS), an increase in your limit is only effective after 24 hours.
Use breaks during the game to stay in control
Need a break from gambling or some distance to stay in control? You can choose to temporarily stop gambling on StarVegas at any time, for any period between 24 hours and six months. Either pause all games on StarVegas or only certain game categories in your player profile.
Restrict the use of your player account
Contact us by email, phone or chat if you wish to restrict the use of your player account on StarVegas. You can activate your player account again at a later date on request. This option is only available if your account is verified.
Gambling suspension
Learn more about the types of gambling suspensions, their scope and how you can have a suspension lifted.
Scope for all gambling suspensions
The following applies to all gambling suspensions, whether self-imposed or ordered by the casino: players are excluded for an indefinite period from all licensed casino games in casinos and on the internet as well as from online participation in sports betting, games of skill and lotteries (Swisslos, Lotterie Romande) in Switzerland and also in the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Voluntary gambling suspension (self-imposed)
Do you feel that your gambling behaviour is problematic and you gamble more than you can afford to? Then we recommend a voluntary Switzerland-wide gambling suspension as an effective means to protect yourself. This suspension is valid in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Please see your player account and application form for more information.
You can request the voluntary gambling suspension directly via your player account or via our customer service: by phone on +41 33 826 03 11, by chat or by email to playsafe@starvegas.ch. Please use the email address you registered with on StarVegas.
Gambling suspension by the casinos (ordered gambling suspension)
All casinos are required by law to issue a suspension if:
- there is suspicion that a person is heavily indebted, is not meeting their financial obligations or is risking stakes that are disproportionate to their income and assets.
- they know or have to assume that a person is addicted to gambling because of a report from a specialist agency or social authority.
- they are unable to carry out the necessary clarifications with the Player Protection Department due to documents not being submitted. You can find more information about our approach under «Responsible Gaming».
Lifting a gambling suspension
You can submit an application to have your suspension in Switzerland and Liechtenstein lifted if the reason for triggering the gambling suspension no longer applies (and there is generally no reason for the suspension). Do this at the casino that issued the suspension or where you requested a voluntary suspension. On StarVegas, use this application form.
An application to lift a voluntary suspension can be made after three months at the earliest, an application to lift an ordered suspension can generally be made at any time.
During the procedure to lift the suspension, we will examine your financial situation, and a specialist agency recognised by the Canton will be involved.
For more information on gambling suspensions and how to have them lifted, click here.
Get help here
We’re here to help. We offer contact options for us and various advice centres here.
Players, family members and friends of those affected can contact us at any time. Joel Turtschi, who is responsible for player protection, and his team will be happy to help you with your request:
playsafe@starvegas.ch
+41 33 826 03 11
Casino Interlaken AG
StarVegas
Player Protection Department
Strandbadstrasse 44
CH-3800 Interlaken
Careplay
Casino Interlaken and StarVegas bear the Careplay label for socially responsible gaming. We work closely with the organisation Careplay to protect our players in the best possible way. More information can be found here:
info@careplay.ch
http://www.careplay.ch
If you are looking for advice or therapy, we recommend that you contact one of the following:
Berner Gesundheit - region Berner Oberland
Aarestrasse 38B
CH-3600 Thun
+41 33 225 44 00
thun@beges.ch
www.bernergesundheit.ch
Berner Schuldenberatung - Dept counselling region Bern
Seftigenstrasse 57
CH-3007 Bern
+41 31 371 84 84
info@schuldeninfo.ch
www.schuldeninfo.ch
KLICK - Addiction specialist unit region Lucerne
Obergrundstrasse 49
CH-6003 Luzern
+41 41 249 30 60
info@klick-luzern.ch
www.klick-luzern.ch
Heart2Heart - Affiliated group that offers psychological assistance and advice 24/7
Protection of minors
Gambling in casinos is prohibited for persons under the age of 18. We take this legal protection seriously and uphold our duty of care towards minors.
Casino games are prohibited in Switzerland for persons under the age of 18. We require our players to provide proof of age and will immediately block underage player accounts if false information is provided.
As parents and legal guardians, please do your part to protect minors: keep your StarVegas credentials secret, and keep your ID documents, credit cards and other bank cards out of the reach of minors.
Talk to children and young people about gambling and block access to gambling on the internet. You can find free software at https://www.jugendschutzprogramm.de/en.