Swedish regulator to supervise bonus offers

The gambling regulator from Sweden said that in some cases licence holders make unreasonable interpretations of the law.

Sweden.- Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator, announced this week that it will supervise bonus offers, as it has noted that licence-holders offer their customers several different forms of bonus offers and that sometimes they make unreasonable interpretations of the gaming law.

The regulator said that it has received many complaints, questions and comments regarding the bonus offers that gaming companies feature. “Unauthorised bonus offers risk attracting players with problems maintaining their gambling in a way that can be considered unhealthy. The Gaming Inspectorate is very serious about this and has therefore initiated supervision of several companies regarding their bonus offers,” said the regulator.

The statement also explains that there is a definition in the law that states that all discounts or similar financial incentives linked to the games are to be seen as a bonus and that a licensee can only offer bonuses the first time a player plays at the licensee’s game. If the licence-holder violates the rules, the authority can intervene with high penalties and the licence can also be revoked. The regulator revealed that it sent a letter to all licensees regarding the supervision effort and applicable regulations.

“Spelinspektionen’s assessment is that even what is often referred to by the gaming companies as cashback, payback or lowered player fee or the like can be a bonus because these are financial incentives directly linked to the games,” writes Patrik Gustavsson, director of the watchdog.