The Gaming Act meant serious changes for gaming companies and casinos targeting Swedish players. Before the Gaming Act was passed, new casinos opened every two weeks on the Swedish market. Already with the decision to publish the gambling law, the number of new Swedish casinos that were clearly oriented towards Swedish players was significantly reduced.
An industry that depends to such an extent on casino advertising campaigns because the lures also had to completely change their marketing strategies in this regard.
The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate, as a supervisory body, has been criticized by most gaming companies for unclear directives. When we summed up the first year with the new gaming law, several gaming companies had already received heavy fines for violating the rules.
The most frequent remarks concerned gaming companies and their casinos violating bonus rules. It was clear that the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate does not intend to act with a soft line to force gaming companies to comply with the rules of the new gaming law.
Unlicensed casinos are the nail in the eye
While the government's new gambling law has had some impact on regulating the market, there is also criticism that it defeats its purpose as quickly as possible. In 2020, the State Treasury estimates that 25 percent of all players still play in unlicensed casinos. This is well above the government's goal that at least 90 percent of gambling should come from gaming companies with Swedish gaming licenses.
Unlicensed casinos attract, among other things, the ability to offer unlimited bonuses and promotions. Despite tax-free winnings and increased consumer protection, it has been difficult to increase the number of players who choose casinos with a Swedish gaming license over unlicensed ones.
Swedish players in this environment have increasingly begun to play at utländska casinon med trustly. This does not mean that they do not have a license, just that they have a license of other European Union countries, the UK, Malta. So they are automatically legal in Sweden.
New Temporary Gaming Rules
On July 2, 2020 new temporary gaming regulations came into effect for the Swedish gambling market, resulting in additional restrictions for online casinos. The regulation was aimed to protect consumers from possible gambling as a result of the prevailing social changes.
The new regulation on online casinos and slot machines basically contained the following changes:
- A maximum welcome bonus of SEK 100 per player
- All players must set a mandatory login time limit.
- A deposit limit of SEK 5000 per week.
In the proposal that was sent for consultation, it was assumed that the limits would also apply to betting, but it has been revised. The gambling ordinance was originally intended to apply until the end of 2020, but the deadline has been extended and applies until at least the summer of 2021.