Svenska Spel Accused of Violating Sweden’s Gambling Ad Rules

Former Swedish gambling monopoly, Svenska Spel, was recently accused by other licensed operators in the Swedish market of violating rules.

Svenska Spel was reported to the gambling regulator because it was advertising the company’s products…

…but without including the message regarding responsible gaming which is necessary according to the ad rules.

More Details on the Rule Violation

The trade group for Sweden’s licensed iGaming operators called, Branschföreningen för onlinespel, or BOS, actually filed a complaint against Svenska Spel to the Granskningsnämnden media regulator.

In the complaint, BOS noted that Svenska was promoting its products like Triss, Keno, and Lotto during morning shows on the television…

…without mentioning anything about responsible gambling.

BOS noticed that during a morning show on TV4, Svenska d lottery products like scratch cards during which guests are quizzed.

But, during that segment, no messages regarding responsible gambling appeared, which is obligatory according to the rules.

BOS representatives said that those segments that appeared during the broadcast were “clearly promotional” in nature because of the company’s prominent logos displayed during them.

Other BOS Complaints Against Svenska Spel

Interestingly enough, this wasn’t the only complaint that BOS issued against the company.

Back in February, the regulator accused this Swedish entity of promoting a new online casino to its land-based customer database, which international operators are not allowed to do.

Svenska has since stopped those actions, but the BOS said that the damage has already been done.

Other Complaints

BOS has also issued a complaint last month along with the Swedish Competition Authority against AB Trav Och Galopp (ATG)…

…which is a pool betting monopoly.

General secretary of BOS, Gustaf Hoffstedt, said that all licensed operators in the newly-regulated Swedish market must realize that they have to respect the new rules.

Quite surprisingly, both Svenska and ATG are currently one of the most dominant operators in this market, although both are having issues with BOS.

Svenska to Stop Casino Advertising

The company recently announced that it will entirely stop with advertising the company’s online casino offering during the whole of 2019.

The company decided to make such a radical move because of the concerns that the online sector could provoke the increase in gambling problems in the Swedish market.

Company officials decided to apply the advertising ban across all channels because they want to find the best way to protect their customers.

“Svenska Spel has always pushed the line that all the games in the licensed market risk should be classified based on risk levels and that stricter rules should apply for the more risky games, both in of design and marketing,” Chief Executive Officer, Patrik Hofbauer, said.

“By ending advertising for online casino, we are now taking the plunge,” he added.

Source:

“Svenska Spel accused of violating Sweden’s gambling ad rules”, Peter Amsel, calvinayre.com, May 7, 2019.