A government commission of inquiry into the Swedish lottery laws and their future development has recommended that the law be opened to include the opportunity for commercial operation.
Currently, lotteries in Sweden are run by the government monopolies and by non-profit-making organisations.
The inquiry has concluded that while the current regulations are consistent with EC law, the influence of foreign operators offering internet gambling to Swedish citizens required an updating of the legislation. It is proposed to control internet gambling by issuing commercial licences giving the official ‘stamp of approval’ to licence-holders and restricting marketing methods to licensees.
It is proposing that legalised gambling in the country should be through odds and pools betting, but does not specifically ban lotteries by means of machines. It does, however, ban outlets where alcohol is served. Full details of the proposals are included in the January issues of InterGame, InterGaming and iNTERGAMINGi.
