Swedish parliament to review new Gambling Act amendments on match-fixing
Proposed amendments would allow licensees to process data on suspected matching-fixing.
Sweden.- The Swedish parliament will review proposed amendments to the 2018 Gambling Act that are intended to allow licensees to process data on “infringements related to or suspected of being involved in match-fixing”. The amendments are proposed in a government memorandum for referral.
The move would introduce special provisions for processing personal data in accordance with European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) principles. The new amendments are expected to come into effect on December 1 provided that they receive parliamentary approval.
According to the memorandum: “The processing of such personal data is proposed to be permitted if it is necessary to scrutinise a monetary game to detect cheating, fraud and other criminal activities, to monitor and report aberrant betting patterns and suspicions of the manipulation of sports outcomes for betting, and to verify and report any betting by players that violates match-fixing regulations.”
It notes: “The GDPR includes a provision for the processing of personal data concerning legal violations, allowing such processing under specific conditions, mainly under the control of an authority or when permitted by EU or national law.”
Sweden has already passed new rules on match-fixing in recent years. Since July 1 last year, licensees have an obligation to help the police with investigations into match-fixing activity as part of their duties. In October, minister for financial markets Niklas Wykman and minister for health and social affairs Jakob Forssmedhave announced that Sweden would join the Macolin Convention. The 2014 treaty, officially named the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, sets out requirements for EU states to work with sporting bodies and betting operators.
The convention includes a common legal framework for international cooperation against sports manipulation. Sweden’s previous government had been minded to wait until the convention becomes European law before joining. However, EU approval is taking time. Malta is opposing the measure because the convention’s definition of illegal gambling would confirm that many MGA-licensed operators are operating against EU law.
