Sweden’s gaming regulator Spelinspektionen has approved eight more licenses for suppliers to gaming operations. These licenses will be required if these suppliers wish to operate legally in the country after July 1.
The list of suppliers who were recently issued licenses include the former monopoly Svenska Spel, Comeon brand Co-Gaming, Game Shop Limited and a subsidiary, two licenses for online gaming developer Push Gaming and two licenses for the Swedish slot developer Slotmill. Currently 24 suppliers have been issued licenses.
This requirement became law in November—after being passed by the Riksdag, iGaming Business has reported. The purpose of the law is to discourage the black market by cutting off access to providers.
The government has increased the budget for the regulator so it can beef up its enforcement powers. Spelinspektionen Director-General Camilla Rosenberg hailed the development: “We welcome these extra funds which enable further strengthened measures in the fight against unlicensed gambling, money laundering and match-fixing.”
The increased funding will come from higher gaming fees, something that the industry body Online Gaming Industry Association (BOS) said it’s fully on board with. BOS Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt said in a statement: “We believe that the Gambling Authority is underfunded, at least in terms of maintaining an acceptable dialogue with the industry the authority is set to monitor.”
