Swedish gambling regulator clarifies rules on sports events that feature minors
The Swedish regulations are continuing to cause confusion.
Sweden. The gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has published a further clarification on Sweden’s rules regarding betting on sports events that feature minors. The regulator sought to clarify the rules after several legal appeals against penalty fees issued for breaches.
Three operators –bet365, ComeOn and PokerStars, have been hit with penalties for having breached rules on the matter. The Supreme Administrative Court rejected their appeals in July, concluding that they had breached chapter 8 section 2.2 of the Swedish Gaming Act, by taking bets on events in which a majority of participants are minors.
Spelinspektionen noted that the court judgments served to clarify several points regarding definitions of terms used in the rules. It noted that “event” was interpreted as applying to individual matches. It also clarified that only registered participants, both players and substitutes, should be used when calculating the number of participants in an event.
Spelinspektionen noted that it was of “secondary importance” whether any manipulation actually occurred in an event.
As for the size of the penalties issued for breaches of the rules, Spelinspektionen said that this depends on operator turnover. The Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal have backed up the regulator’s decision to calculate penalties based on gross turnover. However, they reached a different conclusion as to how much turnover should impact the fine and the definition of what figure should be used for gross turnover.
The regulator said: “The questions are of principle and are important in all cases where a penalty is involved.”
Spelpaus reaches 80,000 registrations
Meanwhile, Spelinspektionen has announced that Sweden’s national gambling self-exclusion scheme has passed 80,000 registrations after three years in operation. Licensed operators must integrate with Spelpaus and block access to those who are registered.
Meanwhile, Spelinspektionen has set a date on which it will open the application process for new B2B supplier licences. Legislation introducing the licences has yet to be approved by the legislature, but the regulator is moving ahead to ensure licences can be issued on time if it is. According to the text of the bill in its current form, the B2B supplier licences will be required from July 1, 2023.
