In the new manifesto, the Swedish Gambling Authority have stated they will focus their actions on encouraging players toward using licensed operators. Their latest policy strategy also states that they will collaborate with other partners, which is seen as crucial to successfully fighting illegal gambling in Sweden. These partners include already licensed online casinos and bookmakers, as well as software providers.
The elimination of illegal actors in an industry such as gambling is no easy feat. Many unlawful organisations base their operations outside of Sweden, making it hard to enforce the domestic legislation. At present it is not illegal for Swedish citizens to play with operators based outside of Sweden, which is a key factor behind why Spelinskeptionen are intent on finding a way to make it unattractive for unlicensed brands to operate on Swedish market. One such way of doing this is to display the operators that do not presently hold a Swedish licence on their website.
Some betting sites and online casinos that are permitted to operate in Sweden are part of wider umbrella organisations that own additional brands not currently licensed in Sweden. In cases where one or more of the non-licensed brands might be found to purvey its services on the Swedish market, Spelinskeption can act against the parent company by imposing sanctions or removing licences altogether.
Spelinskeptionen also urges other licensed operators to provide information related to illegal online gambling and to ensure they only cooperate with trustworthy actors. This is a distinctive effort to ensure they do not partner with companies that are involved with unlicensed operators, for example payment providers and software providers. Affiliate companies can in turn contribute by solely working together with licensed gambling sites.
One such Swedish casino affiliate that is committed to working exclusively with licensed operators are Casinodealen.se. Freddi Nilsson, Project Leader at Casinodealen.se qualified how the new legislation has been received in Sweden:
– There’s long been a level of confusion surrounding exactly what and what is not permitted. Ever since the new licensing system came into action in January 2019, it has been characterised by uncertainty. Perhaps that is the standard when there is a period of adjustment to new legislation, whereby you have to try different things and test the limits in order to better refine regulations.
“That Spelinskeptionen now is taking a tighter grip of the unlicensed market is a solid step in the right direction. We welcome this move as we only work together with fully licensed and trustworthy online casinos in Sweden”, continues Nilsson
If the Swedish authorities will be able to shut out the unlicensed operations with this current strategy remains to be seen, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.
