The new gaming restrictions in Sweden have provided a confused picture for operators, says Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of BOS, the association for online gambling.
He has called upon the country’s gaming inspectorate to clarify the situation over a new deposit limit that was introduced by the minister for social insurance. Hoffstedt says that gambling companies have interpreted the new regulation in very different ways, causing chaos.
“We warned about this and it has occurred and it is the result of a hasty and weakly substantiated proposal,” he stated.
The state-controlled company ATG was criticised in the media for the way in which it had interpreted the new regulation. “Many of us warned that measures, which were not based upon facts and thorough impact assessments, risked leading to a worsening situation for both the licensed companies and their customers. The result will be millions in fines and more customers turning to the unlicensed markets.”
Minister Ardalan Shekarabi had directed changes to the online gaming laws that were criticised by both the state-owned and private operators. The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate, that is responsible for administering the rules, also had objections. Unsure of how to incorporate the new rules, many gaming companies have set a limit on products, even thought sports and horse-racing are not covered by the regulation.
Hoffstedt sympathised with the inspectorate that has the task of clarifying something it did not agree with, mostly concerning the deposit restrictions.
