The Ministry of Finance has proposed that the temporary restrictions on the online gambling market that were introduced on July 2 this year will be extended to June 30, 2021. The proposal includes a weekly deposit limit of a maximum of SEK 5,000 and that bonus offers are limited to a maximum of one hundred SEK.
The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling – BOS – is critical of the proposal in their reply which was submitted to the Ministry of Finance today. BOS calls for it to be withdrawn.
“The Covid-19 restrictions have two obvious consequences. The first consequence is that high-volume gamblers who play within the licensing system increase their number of accounts to several different gambling companies in order to avoid the deposit limit of SEK 5,000. Therefore, the gambling companies no longer get an overall picture of the individual player’s gambling behavior. The possibility of taking protective measures against excessive gambling in accordance with the statutory duty of care is lost. The duty of care is the cornerstone of consumer protection in Swedish gambling regulation, which is now largely put out of action by the government.” says Gustaf Hoffstedt, BOS.
”The second consequence is a likely continued leakage from the licensing system. This spring, the leakage from the Swedish licensing system was 25 percent for online casinos, and that was before the covid-19 restrictions. It can without a doubt be concluded that the covid-19 restriction does not have a beneficial effect on gambling consumers’ willingness to stay within the licensing system, as it is perceived as another layer of regulatory burden to which unlicensed gambling sites are not covered. An extension of the covid-19 restrictions will therefore further lower the proportion of gambling consumers who play within the licensing system, and thus the opportunity to offer them good consumer protection.” Hoffstedt continues.
The reply can be read here (in Swedish)
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