The Swedish gaming regulator once said it would take no hardline approach to unlicensed iGaming operators, but that is now changing.Next year, online payment processors will cooperate with police in the online gaming sector.
Sweden will amend its gambling law from 2018.It cleans up regulated spaces and provides better protection.It wants to introduce regulations that require payment service providers to monitor their activities more actively.
When the law comes into effect next summer, payment providers will have to report payments made by Swedes to unlicensed iGaming platforms.Until now, it was impossible due to the wording of the data protection law, but it seems that these regulations will be abolished by this revision of the law.
private payment police
The reform will repeal existing laws that prohibit payment providers from disclosing personal information.Going forward, these providers will be required to notify the government of all payments sent to unlicensed online gaming operators.
The updated law does not necessarily define the outcome.Providers only report suspicious payments.It will be up to the country's gaming regulator, Spelinspektionen, and government authorities to take the necessary measures.
This summer, Swedish lawmakers rejected a plan for Spelinspektionen to automatically block unsanctioned online gaming platforms.At the same time, regulators were left with the power to take legal action against violators.
A new reform can achieve the same result, but by a different method.The bill contains language that allows Spelinspektionen to create fake gaming accounts to gamble and bet on sports on unlicensed sites.This will allow us to unequivocally determine whether the platform is accessible from within Sweden.
scrutiny of self-exclusion
The government also gave Spelinspektionen new assignments.It is that we need to investigate why people choose to exclude themselves from gambling.Sweden has an online self-exclusion platform spelpaus.se where consumers can register if they wish to be excluded from gambling.
The platform will act as a registry and the regulated gaming industry will have to track its activities. Spelinspektionen must also check the percentage of people who have chosen unlicensed gambling companies in Sweden and have been banned from playing.
Being able to quit gambling through spelpaus.se is an important measure against gambling addiction and consumer protection.But Swedish authorities believe they don't know enough about why people quit gambling.Furthermore, there is no data on the percentage of people who voluntarily unsubscribe and play on regulated sites.
The Treasury sees this as a problem as it makes it more difficult to properly analyze earnings.Niklas Wykman, the Minister for Financial Markets, has therefore initiated a legal change requiring Spelinspektionen to collect further data.
Wykman also wants to better understand the scope of the spelpaus.se platform.He would like to know if options should be added to better protect consumers, such as suspending or blocking individual gambling for longer.
Spelinspektionen must submit its findings and recommendations by the end of October next year.
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