Sweden Submits New Gambling Bill To European Commission

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Friday, January 5th, 2018 | Written by Lucy Brown

Sweden is in the process of liberalizing its gambling industry with its gaming regulator currently preparing new legislation to allow international operators to offer their products in the country. To this end, Sweden’s current administration recently completed its latest gambling regulation draft, with the finalized version subsequently sent to the European Commission for review.

Background

Unlicensed gaming operators were previously free to offer their products in Sweden, but the new piece of legislation requires that all online operators obtain an iGaming license first. This is in order to better protect the interests of Swedish citizens, as the current gambling market has almost no regulatory oversight at all. In other words, the Swedish Minister for Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi intends to establish a bill that can finally establish control over the whole gambling market, especially as present figures from the regulatory body Lotteriinspektionen suggest that online operators with international licenses make up around just one quarter of the total Swedish gambling market.

While the government is set to control land-based casinos, gaming machines, and major lotteries outside of these venues, digital products such as sports betting, online casinos, and online bingo, on the other hand, will not be monopolized by the state.

European Commission Review

The Swedish government has sent a copy of the draft legislation to the European Commission (EC) for vetting, with the EC able to highlight any concerns that it may have with the draft bill. It may then ask the Swedish government to make amendments or, in the absence of any concerns, allow the government to push the bill forward. The Swedish government has also confirmed that it will began accepting applications for gambling licenses in July, with it’s new gambling market scheduled to launch on January 1, 2019.

Fees, Taxes, and Regulations

Once the bill is eventually passed, internet gambling and virtual sports will be available for all qualified online gambling companies, with the new licenses subsequently valid for a five year period. Any licensed operators will also be required to pay an 18% tax rate on their gambling revenue, which is within the range Swedish online operators consider to be acceptable for the running of a profitable online gambling operation.

The regulations further require international operators to host their gaming servers in Sweden in addition to their overseas locations. There will be some exceptions allowed to this rule, though, particularly if the operator is based in a jurisdiction the Swedish government deems acceptable. On top of this, operators who provide Swedish authorities remote access to servers for inspection will be granted a pass.

Protecting Customers and Tackling Unauthorized Operators

The new regime is designed to overhaul Sweden’s online and offline market, with one of its main objectives being to punish unauthorized firms from operating within Sweden. Another intention is to protect the interests of Swedish players, with the tools suggested including setting deposit limits, providing no credit, and bonus offers limited to first-time customers only.

At the moment, Sweden has very strict rules in place to prevent underage gambling, with brick-and-mortar casinos only open to people aged over 20. Meanwhile, online gambling sites are accessible for people over the age of 18, with licensees flaunting these rules and regulations facing the prospect of being hit with fines of up to SEK 5,000 ($640), or as much as 10% of their annual turnover subject to their degree of their negligence.

Finally, Lotteriinspektionen reserve the right to force internet service providers (ISPs) to block any unauthorized gambling domains operatimg within Sweden. In addition, financial institutions will be expected to block payments to these illegal online gambling hubs, while any operator who continues to provide their services to unlicensed Swedish gamblers will face a range of punishments from monetary penalties to up to two years behind bars.

Recent Gambling Ads Rebuke

To show its seriousness in ensuring gambling in the country remains under strict supervision, Lotteriinspektionen recently issued a warning to Metro to stop advertising unauthorized foreign gambling sites in its newspaper, or else be penalized under the country’s Lottery Act. According to the organization, any subsequent infringements could lead to hefty fines of up to SEK250,000 ($30,000) being imposed on Metro.