ATG stops accepting non-Swedish player registrations

The horseracing betting operator ATG is no longer accepting registrations from non-Swedish players.

Sweden.- AB Trav och Galopp (ATG), the operator of licensed horseracing and trotting venues, has confirmed that it is no longer accepting customer registrations from non-nationals.

ATG has had to register all players that bet at its venues since the introduction of new gambling regulations in Sweden in 2019. After an internal review, it has decided not to accept foreign player registrations, saying that the legal requirements because of the administrative work involved in registering the players and allocating their winnings. 

From now on only players that are registered on Sweden’s national ID registry will be able to place bets at ATG tracks.

ATG said in a statement: “It is no longer possible for foreign visitors to Sweden to open a temporary account with ATG to play in the terminal on the track and in the store.

“Customers without the opportunity to obtain an ATG account are referred from 1 July to their respective home countries’ gaming companies and the rules that apply to them.

“Many foreign visitors today can play via a gaming company in their home country when they are in Sweden. This is a decision made by ATG after an overall assessment.”

ATG said that only syndicated partners will be allowed to accept foreign players wagering on its Swedish racing markets and pools. It said the decision was part of its group-wide “digital makeover”, which will see existing betting terminals phased out and replaced with machines that require ID.

ATG has launched its new V64 Xpress competition format, which it hopes will revive public engagement with its winter schedule of trotting fixtures.

Last month, Sweden’s national gambling regulator Spelinspektionen issued warnings to AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) and Polar Limited for breaches of sports betting regulations. In both cases, the Swedish gambling regulator issued a warning but no penalty fee.

ATG’s CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth has called for the national regulator to give lighter sanctions to operators who admit wrongdoing.

Last month, ATG also re-appointed Johan Carlson to its board of directors. Carlson, director general at the Swedish Public Health Agency, previously served on ATG’s board between 2015 and 2016.