Sweden receives 60 licence applications

The country is set to debut its new gambling regulations on January 1, 2019, and has already received 60 applications.

Sweden.- The Swedish Gambling Authority, Lotteriinspektionen, has revealed that as part of the preparations for the new regulated market that will debut next year, it has already received 60 licence applications, of which 55 concern online gambling.

The authority said that it expects as many game operators as possible to petition for a licence, as the bigger the number the greater the opportunities for a well-functioning gaming market in Sweden. It also said that all applications and preparations involve a high workload: “A review of all applications shows that many gaming companies need to come up with comprehensive additions. We have begun to send out the request for completions and the gaming companies who do not submit completions within the specified time may not be licenced until January 1, 2019.”

Lotteriinspektionen said that while the authority does now have the opportunity to meet individual gaming companies to a large extent, they still keep dialogue open though trade associations SPER and BOS.

“Another highlighted area is the game advertisement, where we have also shared supervisory responsibility with the Consumer Agency. Definitions and concepts like “moderate marketing” will be clarified through jurisprudence, as in all legislative areas,” said Lotteriinspektionen.

“We can not provide advance notice of how the legislation should be interpreted in individual cases. The starting point for the interpretation of different provisions of the new legislation is the intention of the whole reform; namely a safe and secure gaming market where we jointly help to reduce the harmful effects of gaming and create a positive gaming experience,” concluded the statement by the regulator.