The Ministry of Finance of Sweden has proposed several new rules for the country’s gaming industry. If adopted they would make it mandatory for gaming software manufacturers to obtain licenses to serve operators, ban the promotion of illegal gaming and crack down on ads aimed at young people.
The proposals were unveiled on January 26 by Minister Ardalan Shekarabi and would become law next January.
The requirement that gaming software manufacturers obtain licenses would help end unlicensed gaming, said the minister.
Reacting to the announcement, Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt said the association supports fighting unlicensed gambling but opposes further restrictions on the legal industry.
Hoffstedt declared, “We believe that licensed online casino needs wide marketing possibilities to be successful in the combat against unlicensed gambling.”
The ministry’s proposal would also require operators to provide information that would allow the government to monitor trends and developments in the market.
Ministry for Social Protection Ardalan Shekarabi commented, “We are now taking the next step to regain control of the Swedish gaming market,” he said. “It is both about limiting aggressive gaming advertising and stopping gaming companies that do not have a license. Strengthened gambling regulation is a prerequisite for strong protection for consumers.”
In a separate but related development, the Swedish government has decided not to impose a SEK4,000 (U.S. $ 439.23) slots deposit cap for online operators. The current cap is SEK5,000. It had announced the new cap on January 27, which was to have gone in force February 7.
BOS Secretary General Hoffstedt greeted the change of heart: “It is a wise and well-balanced decision that the government has made,” he said. “Partly based on the general development of the pandemic. Partly, and above all, because precisely these restrictions would not achieve their purpose of protecting public health.”
He said the association favors strong regulation but that the cap would not have had the intended effect.
