Regulator raps Swedish bingo association for website shortcomings

Spelinspektionen has reprimanded the Swedish Bingo Association for failing to display required information for logged-out users on its website.

Sweden.- The national gaming regulator Spelinspektionen has reprimanded the Swedish bingo association Sveriges Bingoföreningars Organisation (SBO) for failing to display information required by gaming legislation at its idrottensbingo.se site.

The regulator said that during an inspection in September, it found that the site lacked logos displaying information on self-assessment tests, deposit limits, login time and suspension from gaming on the site when visitors were not logged in. The page also lacked details about the licensee itself, including name, telephone number and email address.

In its initial response in October, SBO said the information was visible on all devices when players were logged in. However, Swedish legislation requires the information to be visible on the page when players are not logged in.

Spelinspektionen made a follow-up inspection later in October and found the information was still missing from the logged-out page. SBO corrected the oversight in November, adding all of the required information.

Spelinspektionen said that a reprimand was sufficient punishment in the case. It said the violations were “not to be regarded as serious, but neither as minor nor excusable”.

Director general Camilla Rosenberg said: “In the current case, it appears that all logos according to the legislation have been placed at the top of both the regular website and the mobile-friendly website in logged-in mode, which means better protection for players than if the information had been completely missing. 

“The shortcoming regarding the logos was only a small part of the information linked to gaming responsibility. These circumstances are mitigating and show that there was no intention not to follow the regulations or systematic responsible gambling shortcomings.”

Spelinspektionen issued a similar warning to bingo operator Tombola in July last year. Earlier this week, Spelinspektionen announced that it will not oppose the reimposition of temporary online casino deposit limits in Sweden.

A temporary SEK5,000 (€490) deposit limit for online casino gaming was imposed in Sweden in July 2020 in a bid to prevent an increase in problem gaming during the Covid-19 pandemic.

That was finally allowed to expire in November 2021, but with Covid-19 cases increasing again, the Swedish government is proposing to introduce a deposit limit, this time at SEK4,000 (€388).