Swedish Government Suggests Online Gaming Closure
The country’s gaming authority Spelinspektionen has reported to iGB that the government is contemplating different steps to safeguard gamblers in the country at a period when restrictions on movement are in effect. The minister of Sweden Social Security Ardalan Shekarabi who is responsible for gambling policies has been warning those operators if action is not taken against problem gamblers is on the rise. Related business shareholders are worried about the prospect under such circumstances.
Citing new data presented by Spelinspektionen, said that there has been a 33 percent rise in online casino sign up and logins across 17 of the 60 licensees during the past 15 days. This came after analysis by BonusFinder last month and the data showed that almost a third of Swedish online casino players were searching for unlicensed casinos. More and more customers were heading overseas as a result of stringent industry restrictions. This planned closure of the online casino, instead of defending customers, was likely to attract thousands of players to sign up for such black market pages according to industry experts. That, in effect, will bring more financial disruption to the regulated market.
BonusFinder the expert of affiliate marketing explained that The Swedish Government would commit a big mistake if they want to immediately suspend all online gaming activities to protect players. Since January 2019, almost a third of online casino players are searching for a more attractive offering on the black market. Costello claimed that Swedish law also required players to enforce stringent responsible gaming regulations, which he believed implied that the requisite player safety mechanisms have already been placed in place. Rather, the emphasis would be on ensuring that they are adhered to rather than making a response to shutter all legal labels and drive yet more players to unregulated places.
Gustaf Hoffstedt from the Sweden’s trade association for online gambling also known as the Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS), said that although he was not quite sure what steps the government should take. Nevertheless, any new limitations on the industry would prove helpful to unlicensed operators, he added. Hoffstedt said that Sweden’s current levels of channelization to the approved sector is around 75 per cent, way below the government goal of 90 per cent. On other European markets, including The British Gambling Commission, Danish regulator Spillemyndigheden and the Belgian Gaming Commission has offered guidance to gamblers to ensure they will not lose control on gambling activities.
