Sweden homes in on illegal operators with two bans

The Swedish Gaming Authority or Spelinspektionen, as the regulator is known in Swedish, has issued a ban against two operators in the country that the watchdog said were operating without a license. The entities in question are Smein Hosting and True Polygon Entertainment, which have now been issued a former prohibition from Spelinspektionen to stop providing gambling products in the country.

Spelinspektionen said that it had carried manual checks, looking into the websites in question, and found that Swedish players could still register at both. Such checks are customary and conducted aggressively by some regulators who suspect online casinos and other gambling providers of not properly geo-fencing their products in certain markets.

Sweden now has a law that prohibits even B2B suppliers from providing content to casinos that are operating illegally in the country. Spelinspektionen said that it had not sought out a ban against the entities outright, but offered a grace period during which the two affected companies could provide a statement. As no such statement had come, the regulator had been forced to move forward with due process.

This comes at a time when the regulator is more serious about combating unregulated gambling in the country, at a time when the law is toughening, and additional tax is about to be asked from gambling operators. This would mean more than ever that the regulated market must be competitive lest a lack of sufficient variety pushes players into the illegal market with and without their knowledge.

Sweden maintains a strong level of monetization, but the illegal gambling market still continues to bite into the results of operators and the tax collected for the state. The recent proposal to increase the national gambling tax to 22% from its current 18% rate.

Gambling is also very popular in Sweden with 3 in 4 people confirming that they are happy to participate in various gambling contests and doing so freely. Yet, this has not led to a push in the number of problem gamblers, it seems, as the country’s safeguards are on the right track.

The regulatory regime in Sweden is hailed as one of the most robust and consumer-centric in Europe, but there are still tweaks that could toughen it further. How well the regulated market bears this will be seen in time.

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