Swedish gambling regulator warns bingo venues over breaches of rules
Two bingo venues were found to lack required information.
Sweden.- The Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has alerted the Swedish Bingo Association about information deficiencies at two venues. The regulator detected the breaches at Idrottens Bingo in Linköping and Bingoringen in Karlskoga during physical inspections last year.
Spelinspektionen said its inspectors attended venues to review how licensees comply with the requirements for information that must be made available to the public. These rules require licensee contact details and responsible gaming information to be easily accessible, along with the prize plan and age limit for play.
At Idrottens Bingo, the regulator found that the licensee’s email address and information about beneficiaries was not displayed. Regarding the prize plan, the jackpot value was displayed, but there was no information on the line prizes for the various games. When asking staff on site, inspectors were given a booklet where the games’ prize plan and line prizes were stated. The information was also available by scanning a QR code and on bingo terminals.
Spelinspektionen said the requirement for information on beneficiaries aims to ensure that players are aware of who will benefit from the surplus from a game. “It is of great importance that it is clear to players that participation in the game entails financial support for one or more beneficiaries. For the same reasons as above, it is important that the prize plan is posted in the gaming premises so that the player can decide whether to participate in the game or not,” the regulator said.
The regulator concluded that allowing digital access to the prize plan via a QR code or terminals was not sufficient.
As for BingoRingen Karlskoga, the regulator found that the licensee’s telephone number and email address as well as information about the beneficiary was missing at the location.
Meanwhile, Spelinspektionen has reminded all Swedish gambling licensees that they must report changes in the board, management or ownership no later than 14 days after they have occurred. If the licensee has a representative, any changes to this representative must also be reported.
The regulator noted that its preparatory work for the Gambling Act showed that the requirement for suitability could easily be circumvented by replacing people as soon as an operator has received their licence. It therefore sees it as important to find out if there have been any changes in the circle of people. “We carry out regular inspections to check that the requirements of the Gambling Act have been complied with,” it warned.
