Svenska Spel integrity officer Andreas Arver has vowed that the operator – and the wider Swedish gambling industry – will “not make the same mistakes” over preventing match-fixing in women’s football amid the issues faced by men’s football.
Match-fixing in Sweden has been a key priority of late for stakeholders involved against its prevention, including government, trade associations and the gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen.
Indeed, new government rules enforcing Spelinspektionen to share information about suspected cases of match-fixing on a common platform are set to come into force in July.
The regulator has also been provided with a funding boost by the Swedish government to tackle match-fixing.
Speaking at a training course at Linköping FC, Arver said Sweden was “too late to realise the problem” with match-fixing in men’s football.
He added: “In women's football, we will not make the same mistakes. Although we haven't had any reported cases in Sweden, we have seen some first sad examples internationally and we therefore have to work hard at prevention at home.
“Unfortunately, with the wonderful development of interest in women's football comes risks. This time we will be well equipped to face them.”
Svenska Spel cooperates with the Swedish Football Association and the Elite Women’s Football Association with the aim of better educating the industry on match-fixing.
