Sweden sets opening date for B2B supplier licence applications 

The Swedish gambling regulator has set a date although legislation has yet to be approved. 

Sweden.- Although legislation introducing B2B supplier licences still has to be approved by the legislature, the Swedish gambling regulator has set a date on which it will open the application process. Spelinspektionen says the process will open on March 1, 2023.

The Swedish government has proposed the introduction of B2B supplier licences in an attempt to boost channelisation. However, the legislation has yet to get a vote and the previous government that made the proposal no longer holds a majority in the Riksdag.

Nevertheless, Spelinspektionen reported that it was moving ahead to enable the bill’s measures to enter force on schedule if passed. According to the text of the bill in its current form, the B2B supplier licences will be required from July 1, 2023. 

Spelinspektionen says that means the process will need to begin on March 1 in order to give it time to process applications. It advised suppliers to start preparing applications with the aim to submit them from this date.

The application fee has been set at SEK120,000 (around €10,000), and the regulator expects to initially issue about 70 licences. Only operators that work in the regulated market will be accepted for licences.

The regulator said: “The purpose of the licence requirement for gaming software is to discourage illegal gambling. Unlicensed game operators must not be able to use suppliers who manufacture, provide, install and/or change game software for game operators who do not have a licence in Sweden.”

Last week, Spelinspektionen issued an order banning Curacao-based Ease Gaming NV from operating Casinia.com and other online gambling businesses in Sweden. Ease Gaming does not have a Swedish online gambling licence but Spelinspektionen found that its site had been available to Swedish customers.

The regulator noted that Casinia.com featured information in Swedish and offered customer support in Swedish. It was also possible to choose Sweden as a country of residence when creating an account.

Meanwhile, the regulator has announced new rules prohibiting autoplay in online slots and banning reverse withdrawals (the cancellation of a withdrawal before it reaches their account). Operators must also log players out if they have been inactive for more than two minutes or give them an option to choose whether to remain logged in.

Operators have also been prohibited from suggesting what limits players should impose for time, deposits and losses. The new rules see Sweden follow other jurisdictions that have banned autoplay, including Britain. Both indefinite autoplay and autoplay for a set number of spins will be banned.

Spelinspektionen said it recognised that the new rules may be unpopular with players, and it suggested that operators communicate them in advance before they come into effect.