Swedish regulator takes no action against Aftonbladet for fantasy sports comps

The newspaper Aftonbladet advertised fantasy sports competitions that could be considered as gambling

Sweden.- The national gaming regulator Spelinspektionen has said it will not take action against the newspaper Aftonbladet for advertising a series of fantasy sports events. The regulator investigated whether the events breached Sweden’s Gaming Act.

Aftonbladet, which does not have a gambling licence, advertised several fantasy sports “manager competitions” between January 1, 2020 and June 1, 2021. The competitions invited readers to create a fictional team for chances to win prizes including iPhones and travel gift cards. Readers needed to have a SEK79 (€7.60) Aftonbladet Plus subscription to compete.

Spelinspektionen began an investigation because it felt that some prizes could be considered as financial gain. That would mean the competitions could be classed as gambling under Sweden’s Gambling Act.

Aftonbladet claimed that no payment was required to participate in the manager competitions and so it didn’t need a gaming licence. However, Spelinspektionen responded that the required Aftonbladet Plus subscription had a cost, putting the media outlet in breach of legislation.

Aftonbladet had stopped offering prizes with a financial value after Spelinspektionen began its investigation and so was therefore no longer violating the Gaming Act, the regulator found. It therefore decided that no further action was needed.

Last week, Spelinspektionen published its interim report on the impact of Sweden’s temporary online casino restrictions which were imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic. It found that the impact of the measures was impossible to determine but still said it would support their use in the future.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s government has approved proposals for new safer gambling and consumer protection measures, including new limits on advertising and measures against unlicensed operators.

See also: Swedish gambling regulator fines Bayton for failure to report board change