The Swedish government is moving ahead with plans to extend the scope of the ban on gambling with credit.
The new regulations, which the Ministry of Finance has pencilled to go live in April next year, will rework the current ban on credit which only applies to credit offered by operators and agents.
Under the new legislation, the ban would cover credit granted at other times than at the point of purchase, or by parties other than the operator.
The new regulations will enforce that licence holders and agents must not enable players to enter into credit agreements with third parties at the point of gambling, for example by linking to credit providers.
Operators and agents must also not accept bets if they know that the customer is financing the spend – or their gambling in general – with credit.
Furthermore, operators and agents must not accept payment via credit card “if it is immediately evident at the time of purchase that it is a credit card transaction,” which applies both online and in physical stores.
The government’s reworked ban on credit will also ask operators and agents to take “appropriate measures” to counteract gambling with credit. This could include signage in stores or online, which should be “simple and cost-effective.”
The government is not mandating the introduction of any new technology to enforce the ban on credit – but it wants existing technology to be used to block credit card payments for gambling “without affecting the sale of other goods.”
The proposal will allow the gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, to grant certain lotteries an exemption to support public-benefit activities that are non-political.
“Exemptions may be granted under special circumstances, such as for subscription-based lotteries and add-on games, provided that protective measures are in place to limit the amount of credit involved,” the government said.
