Switzerland’s competition authority has launched a formal investigation into suspected anti-competitive agreements between travel firms and online casinos over search engine advertising
practices.
The Swiss Competition Commission, known as ComCo, is examining whether companies agreed to avoid bidding on each other’s trademarked keywords in online ad auctions run by major search platforms like Google and Bing. Such arrangements, if proven, could limit fair competition in digital advertising markets.
Keyword bidding is a key marketing tool that allows businesses to pay for prominent placement in search results, increasing the visibility of their services. By allegedly steering clear of competitors’ branded terms, companies may have reduced competitive pressure in search rankings.
The investigation was triggered after several firms approached regulators, indicating that businesses in the travel sector and the online gambling industry had intentionally refrained from bidding on rivals’ trademarked search terms.
According to ComCo, this type of coordination could breach competition law by restricting market dynamics and potentially disadvantaging consumers—particularly by making it harder to compare different providers online.
The probe is being conducted in two parts. One focuses on three companies offering package holidays in Switzerland, while the other targets nearly the entire online casino sector operating within the country.
Authorities have not disclosed the names of the companies involved, and the investigation is expected to take up to two years. While search engine operators are not under investigation, they will be consulted as part of the inquiry to assess whether and how they may have been impacted.
ComCo Director Patrik Ducrey emphasized that the case is still in its early stages, noting that the financial scale of the suspected agreements has yet to be determined. Photo by Anthony Quintano from Mount Laurel, United States, Wikimedia commons.
