Sweden Squeezing Unlicensed Operators Following Government Report

October 7, 2021
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The Swedish Gambling Authority’s new strategy to tackle illegal online gambling will make it very hard for unlicensed operators to target Swedish consumers, according to the managing partner of the law firm Nordic Gambling, Morten Ronde.

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The Swedish Gambling Authority’s (SGA) new strategy to tackle illegal online gambling will make it very hard for unlicensed operators to target Swedish consumers, according to the managing partner of the law firm Nordic Gambling, Morten Ronde.

The SGA made the changes after Gunnar Larsson, director-general of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, presented his recommendations following an investigation into match-fixing and unlicensed gambling on October 6.

Under the SGA’s updated strategy, all operators that receive a bet from Swedish players are obliged to follow Swedish laws, which Ronde said will help channel players to licensed operators.

Currently, only unlicensed operators actively targeting Swedish consumers, such as if a website's content is written in Swedish, are considered illegal.

Clarifying which operators are legally allowed to offer their services in Sweden will have a “double effect”, according to the lawyer, as it will ensure payment service providers (PSPs) will be far less likely to work with unlicensed operators.

The regulator will now examine whether online games are aimed at Sweden by identifying a host of “relevant factors”. These factors are “not exhaustive and an assessment will be made in each individual case”.

Relevant factors include the use of payment options or PSPs registered in Sweden or largely used by Swedish consumers, accepting Swedish e-identification and a company or its affiliates marketing in Swedish.

According to Larsson’s report, the SGA must stop payments to unlicensed gambling operators more actively.

The report also advises making changes to the country’s primary gambling legislation to make it illegal for operators without a licence to offer their services to Swedish consumers.

When it comes to match-fixing, the report calls for the creation of a centralised platform for relevant stakeholders, such as gambling operators, sports authorities and the police, to share information regarding betting and criminal activity.

Ronde said this platform would be similar to ones already in place in many European countries, such as the UK or France.

SGA director-general Camilla Rosenberg called the proposed changes “positive”, saying she believes they will strengthen the regulator's ability to take action against unlicensed operators and match-fixing.

“We look forward to being able to collaborate more with other players to better achieve the goals of the gaming market reform,” Rosenberg said, alluding to the government’s aim of increasing channelisation via its market liberalisation.

Sweden set a target of 90 percent of its gamblers being channelled to the licensed market, but for online casino in particular, industry-backed estimates suggest the rate could be as low as around 75 percent.

It is not clear when the proposals included in the government report would be implemented, as there is no obligation for the government to adopt them.

“Some of the other reports in Sweden never materialise into anything. Assuming the government wants these changes, it could be in place by 2023 at the earliest,” Ronde said.

At the time of writing, the report had not been made publicly available.

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