Gespa – Switzerland’s Gambling Supervisory Authority – has confirmed that Jean-Michel Cina will take leadership of the regulatory body as President in the new year.

As of 1 January 2022, Cina will replace Jean-François Roth – who held the position of Gespa President since the establishment of the authority as Comlot in 2006 – with his inaugural term concluding on 31 December 2025.

Prior to joining Gespa, Cina served as State Councilor of the Canton of Valais from 2005 to 2017, during which he presided over the Conference of Cantonal Governments, and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG-SSR) as Chairman.

In vacating his position, Roth has been joined by Vice-President and Addiction Expert Bruno Emi and addiction prevention and legal specialist Professor Jean-Marc Rapp.

The two outgoing executives will be replaced by Mirjam Weber, Member of the Management and Head of Consulting, Offers and Education at the Swiss Cancer League as Vice President and Pascal Mahon, Professor of Swiss and Comparative Constitutional Lawat the Law Faculty of the University of Neuchâtel as legal counsel.

“Gespa and the employees of the office thank their outgoing President and the members of the Supervisory Board for their long-term commitment,” Gespa detailed in a statement.

“As members from the very beginning they were significantly involved in the successful establishment of the authority and did a lot to strengthen and professionalize supervision in the field of lotteries, sports betting and skill money games.”

Gespa further praised Roth for contributing “vast experience” which “shaped Gespa significantly over the past 15 years”.

The outgoing President’s previous political experience saw him Represent the Canton of Jura in the Swiss Council of States from 1987 to 1994 and sit as a Member of the Government Council of the Canton of Jura from 1994 to 2006.

During 2021 Gespa was rebranded and reformed from its original identity of Comlot, as Switzerland’s 26 self-governed Cantons chose to adopt the laws of the Federal Act on Real-Money Gaming (Bundesgesetz über Geldspiele).