Simon Planzer

Practice Areas

Dr Simon Planzer works as practising attorney and scholar. He is Founder/Partner at PLANZER LAW AG. Through his legal practice, publications and work with regulators and the media he has substantially contributed to the cause of empirical-based and sound gaming regulation.

PLANZER LAW AG is a boutique law firm specialising in gaming, entertainment and technology. The firm’s team further holds strong expertise in general business law and (white-collar) criminal law. PLANZER LAW AG has advised most of the global gaming industry leaders in B2C, B2B and PSP. Numerous B2Cs and B2Bs have used the firm’s services in seeking and concluding partnership agreements with Swiss operators.

Clients benefit from highly specialised expertise, a truly international and business-minded perspective and an outstanding global network of practitioners and scholars. PLANZER LAW AG notably provides strategic, regulatory and legal advice relating to the EU/EEA, Switzerland as well as globally through the firm’s excellent network.

The firm further supports its clients in their global business development, advises them on complex transnational risk exposure and produces as one stop shop hands-on multi-jurisdictional advice. The firm holds expertise in implementing compliance programmes (e.g, AML, responsible gaming, data protection).

Career

Dr Planzer wrote his interdisciplinary PhD on EU/EEA gaming regulation and addiction, a monograph for which he did research i.a. at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School (the Division on Addiction) and the European University Institute in Florence ("Empirical Views on European Gambling Law and Addiction").

After a bilingual law degree from the University of Fribourg and passing the bar exam he did postgraduate studies in EU law at the College of Europe and continued specialising in EU / EEA law working at the EFTA Secretariat and the EFTA Court.

Early on, his peer-reviewed publications have focused on gaming, technology and compliance related matters such as responsible gaming and AML and have been distributed with the finest academic publishers, including ‘Gambling Law’ for The Handbook of EEA Law (book chapter, Springer) and ‘A Gambling Lawyer’s Perspective on Responsible Gambling’ (book chapter, Oxford).

Professional Memberships

Dr. Planzer is a member of the Executive Committee of IMGL, a member of IAGA, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the IMGL Magazine. He has been repeatedly invited by regulators to present, notably the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the Gaming Regulators European Forum (GREF). Dr Planzer also serves as Lecturer in Law and Director of the Competence Center on Gaming & Entertainment at the University of St Gallen (CH). Dr Planzer is also a member of the Swiss Bar Association.

Languages Spoken

Dr Planzer and his team practices in English, German and French.

Publications

Planzer, S. (2024), Chambers Gaming, Gambling & Licensing 2024: Switzerland

Planzer, S., & Lycka, M. (2019). A Gambling Lawyer’s Perspective on Responsible Gambling. In H. J. Shaffer, A. Blaszczynski, R. Ladouceur, D. Fong & P. Collins (eds.), Responsible Gambling: Primary Stakeholder Perspectives. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Planzer, S. et al. (2019). Practical Licensing Guide: Switzerland. GamblingCompliance, 30 April 2019.

Planzer, S. (2015). Gambling Law. In C. Baudenbacher (ed.), Handbook on EEA Law. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Planzer, S. (2015). New Swiss Gaming Act under Parliamentarian Scrutiny. GamblingCompliance, 30. November 2015.

Planzer, S. (2014). Switzerland: A controversial draft gaming act. European Gaming Lawyer, pp. 23-24.

Planzer, S. (2014). Empirical Views on European Gambling Law and Addiction. Studies in European Economic Law and Regulation (Vol. I). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Planzer, S., Grey, H., & Shaffer, H. (2014). Associations between national gambling policies and disordered gambling prevalence rates within Europe. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 37(2), advance online publication 23 December 2013.

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