Spelinspektionen happy with new proposed changes

It’s not just the Finnish market that is in a state of regulatory upheaval, as Sweden too is plotting a course that will lead to changes to the Swedish Gambling Act. The proposed changes will come into effect on April 1, 2024, and further strengthen controls on player safety and responsible gambling.

Among the proposals are an obligation from operators to obtain written approval from customers before they can start betting via telephone.

Sweden has also given operators more powers and allowed licensed entities to access various types of personal data, including financial and health information about players, so that operators may enforce stricter and infallible responsible gambling standards.

There will also be stiffer penalties for offending parties, and a particular focus on money laundering, which has become a more serious concern for local authorities. AML policies will be observed to a T in the upcoming regulation and potentially fetch stiffer penalties than breaches of the Swedish Gambling Act.

In other words, an operator may face enforcement action under the country’s Money Laundering Act depending on the severity of an offense, leading to higher penalties paid by offending businesses. All of these changes have been welcomed by Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gaming Authority, and its Director General Camilla Rosenberg who was similarly confident that the government is indeed plotting the right course.

All of the changes that will apply to the regulated gambling market in the country are seen as good decisions that focus on creating a robust framework. The part that Rosenberg particularly praised was the increase of fines issued to operators that breach the Money Laundering Act which was pitched by Spelinspektionen.

The country recently sought to increase the rate of taxation on legal gambling businesses in the country to 22%, a rate that was criticized by local stakeholders and industry bodies. This is not the only recent proposal either.

Sweden strengthened its regulatory regime by ordering suppliers that are licensed in the country to make sure that they do not offer their games to offshore brands that continue to target Swedish players. The new regulatory mandate kicked off in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Sweden also won another major victory by banning credit cards from gambling earlier this year, making gambling safer still.

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