IBIA: Betting restrictions in Sweden could force bettors offshore

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has warned Swedish authorities about plans to limit in-game markets.

Sweden.- The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has warned that plans to restrict betting in Sweden could push players to offshore operators and markets.

The IBIA revealed that gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has plans to limit betting markets for in-game events as part of efforts to prevent match fixing.

According to H2 Gambling Capital’s assessment, this could see around 34% of players move to offshore sites.

The IBIA said the proposals suggested a fundamental misunderstanding of how match-fixers operate and noted that fixers tended to focus on unregulated Asian markets, rather than regulated European jurisdictions.

“As such, it may unfortunately also serve to decriminalise the corruption of Swedish sports through the offshore betting market, notably unregulated Asian operators,” the IBIA explained, according to the website igamingbusiness.com.

“It is clear from our data that the betting markets that the SGA is proposing to prohibit do not constitute an increased threat of manipulation from an international perspective.

“There will be no integrity benefit from this migration to offshore operators as any betting will be outside of SGA licensing, thereby removing market oversight and negating any integrity reporting requirements,” the IBIA added.

Instead, the IBIA suggested that Spelinspektionen address match-fixing as an international, rather than domestic, issue.