Spelinspektionen’s Strategy Against Illegal Gambling

The Swedish Gaming Authority, Spelinspektionen, has released a detailed strategy that it will use to tackle unlicensed gambling activity, as a part of the preparations to ramp up preventative efforts against illegal operators.

The Gaming Authority said that unlicensed activity left serious consequences for players, as well as for the state, since the illegal operators do not necessarily offer the same standards of player protection that is required of licensees, and the state is losing on tax revenue.

Spelinspektionen, going forward, will make measures that will ensure gambling in Sweden is channeled towards legal options a priority.

A Work in Progress

The Swedish regulator does say that determining which brands were actively targeting Swedish players is not an exact science. The regulator, however, says that it has developed criteria for assessing each potential breach. This will allow the regulator to check whether businesses were offering deposits, withdrawals and winnings in Swedish Kronor, and if their website, and conditions were in Swedish and tailored to customers in Sweden.

The regulator will also be able to see if the site’s information or customer service number has a Swedish country code and if the operator markets directly to Swedish consumers.

“There is no simple solution or any tool that can directly exclude these illegal gaming operators from the Swedish market. However, Spelinspektionen believes that there are several stakeholders who can take steps to limit the opportunity and incentives to conduct illegal gambling in Sweden. Spelinspektionen will prioritise collaboration with these bodies,” the regulator stated.

The More the Merrier

The Swedish Regulator has also invited licensed operators and suppliers to help them push unlicensed operators from the market.

“The companies must not work with illegal actors, especially by providing them with solutions such as payment processing services or gaming content and flag unlicensed activity,” Spelinspektionen stated.

Spelinspektionen plans to issue warnings and fines at first, in an effort to force illegal operators from the market. In case warnings and fines do not work, the regulator says that they will turn to the police.

Operators holding a license in the country were also warned that if they fail to comply with the controls, should a domain that is not approved to operate in the country under their control be found to be targeting Swedish players, actions will be taken against the licensed domains, resulting in a revoked operating license.

Source:

“Swedish regulator sets out illegal gambling strategy”, igamingbusiness.com, December 16, 2019.