After gaining an additional SEK 2.4m (€200,000) for the current year, the country’s government has proposed a SEK 10.8m (£777,385) increase in the authority’s budget for 2024.

In addition to this, it is also estimated that the Spelinspektionen will also receive an extra SEK 15.6m (£1.12m) through 2025, and SEK 18.6m (£1.33m) to combat these activities during 2026.

“Countering the illegal game and match-fixing is of the highest priority for a safe and secure gaming market for the consumer,” commented Camilla Rosenberg, SAGA Director General.

“With even greater collaboration with the Financial Supervisory Authority, we can become sharper in supervision. I see the proposal for increased resources as very positive.”

This move comes as the Swedish government looks to ensure that the gambling market is not abused for criminal enterprises, with its noted that illegal gambling and match-fixing are key sources of income for criminal networks.

“Fixed sports competitions and other forms of match-fixing are against the fundamental values ​​of sport and are a serious threat to the future of sport,” said Sports Minister Jakob Forssmed.

“Reinforcement of the Spelinspektionen’s work contributes to protecting Swedish sports from being undermined by organised crime.”

However, in addition to the increased funding, the SGA must also forge a closer cooperation with the Financial Supervisory Authority in order for these aforementioned goals to be achieved “as effectively as possible.”

This will see an additional SEK 4.5m made available to block payment mediation to and from illegal gambling operations.

“There must be strong consumer protection in the gambling market. With this investment, Spelinspektionen can sharpen supervision,” noted Financial Markets Minister Niklas Wykman.

“In addition, the cooperation with the Financial Supervisory Authority can open up new opportunities to block payment mediation to and from illegal actors, something that can play an important role in the work to combat criminal activity.”

Earlier in the month, licensed gambling companies in Sweden recorded a slight drop in revenue year-on-year through 2023’s second quarter, with the figure of SEK 6.7bn down a little over one percentage point from SEK 6.77bn.

However, this does represent a slight nudge of 1.77 per cent from the SEK 6.58bn witnessed through Q1. For the year-to-date, overall revenue was down less than half a percentage point after closing at SEK 13.28m (2022 SEK 13.33bn).

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SkillOnNet and Synot Games are named as two of the recipients of gaming software permits, with Swedish group Programutvecklarna i Norrköping becoming the third party to receive the green-light by the Spelinspektionen.

This sees the trio become the first licenced gaming suppliers in Sweden, as of July 1, 2023, with the permits covering an initial five year period. 

The regulator also updated that it currently has around 60 applications to review following an acceptance period opening from March 1, 2023. 

The conversation regarding B2B licensing began during the early stages of the past year, with the Riksdag duly announcing the formal introduction at the end of November 2021.

“The purpose of introducing the requirement is to increase channelling and thereby discourage illegal gambling,” the regulator noted alongside issuing the aforementioned permits.

“Unlicensed game operators must not be able to use suppliers who manufacture, provide, install and/or change game software for game operators who have a licence in Sweden.”

A consultation period on B2B licences began in May 2022, after which companies were informed that new requirements would be adopted for all online gaming software suppliers and game developers.

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The group, which is based in Malta and boasts a licence from the archipelago’s Gaming Authority, has made the move via its Lucky Days online casino.

L7 Entertainment, whose online licence within the country runs until June 16, 2025, according to the regulator Spelinspektionen, has gone live powered by the GiG platform following the receipt of all necessary approvals.

Citing H2 Gambling Capital data of a 17 per cent online casino turnover uptick between 2020 and 2021, GiG voices confidence in witnessing similar year-on-year growth in the foreseeable future.

A spokesperson at L7 said: “After working on this project for a long time it’s finally come through and we’re delighted that we have the licence ahead of the summer. 

“This wouldn’t be possible without the hard work done by both GiG and the L7 team and serves as a great testament to the cooperation between the two companies.”

This latest development has secured further growth across the Swedish digital ecosystem for GiG, following the company detailing expansion across UK and North America yesterday (Thursday 14 July).

These came after the group formalised terms of a partnership inked alongside Aspers Group earlier in the year, in addition to gaining receipt of a supplier licence in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Martin Collins, Director of Sales and Business Development at GiG, said of the company’s latest deal: “At GiG we pride ourselves in being the chosen platform of choice for regulated markets. 

“We have been operating in Sweden from day one and continue to serve the market on behalf of many of our clients’ brands. 

“The addition of Lucky Days further widens our footprint and highlights the ever growing trend to embrace regulation and deliver a safer, more compelling experience for the customer.”

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The Law Council’s referral from the Ministry of Finance is looking to “ensure a healthy and safe gaming market,” with the proposed amendments to the law slated to enter into force on July 1, 2023.

“In the legal advice referral, the government proposes measures to exclude unlicensed gambling from the Swedish gambling market,” the submission targeting unlicensed activities reads. 

“It is proposed. that the Gambling Act shall introduce an option for the government to issue regulations on the obligation for payment service providers to provide such information used in payment intermediation for unlicensed gambling, and that the current provisions on payment blocking shall be repealed. 

“In supervising that the licence requirement and the promotion ban are complied with, an opportunity is also proposed for the Spelinspektionen to purchase online gaming services under a hidden identity.”

Furthermore, measures to tackle match fixing include increased opportunities for licensees and sports federations to process personal data in the framework of the work against match-fixing.

The proposals would also provide an opportunity to issue regulations on control routines for detecting and counteracting match-fixing, and an obligation for licensees to provide all information needed for an investigation of crime associated with certain games.

Last month, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) stressed that Sweden’s economy would benefit from easing restrictions that the group indicated “drive players to the black market”.

According to a new report, estimates suggest that the country’s grey and black markets will generate revenues of just over SEK 21bn between 2021 and 2025 if action is not taken to ease restrictions.

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However, this performance through the three months ending March 31, 2022, was a decline of 7.86 per cent from the SEK 7.01bn (£567.13m) scored through the final three months of 2021, which was also the best quarterly performance of the past year.

Dissecting the year’s final quarter performance in more detail, online betting and gaming increased to SEK 4.16bn (2021: SEK 3.92bn), which represents a slight decline quarter-on-quarter from SEK 4.18bn (£338.17m).

Svenska Spel’s lottery and Vegas slots reached revenue of SEK 1.29bn (£104.36m), which represents a decline of 4.56 per cent year-on-year from SEK 1.35bn (£109.21m) and 30.62 per cent QoQ from SEK 1.68bn (£135.91m).

The reopened Casino Cosmopol, that resumed activity in July 2021 after being closed from March 29, 2020, finished the quarter at SEK 102m (£8.25m), which represents drops from the SEK 132m (£10.68m) and SEK 144m (£11.65m) generated through the final two quarters of the past year.

Charitable lotteries’ dropped a little over three per cent to SEK 863m (2021: SEK 889m), with restaurant casinos closing the period down 37 per cent to SEK 39m (2021: SEK 62m). 

At the end of the first quarter of the year, the regulator reports that approximately 73,000 were suspended for gambling via Spelpaus.se, which represents an increase of six year quarter-on-quarter.

In March 2022, 91 companies had active licences on the Swedish market, with 66 of these being for betting and/or commercial gaming online.

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These ambitions include that the gaming market should be under public control, have strong consumer protection and protect revenue from gaming for associations and the state.

After being tasked to evaluate the effects of re-regulation, with particular regard to channelling and consumer protection, Treasury estimates that “the gaming market will function better in 2021 than in 2018”.

The Swedish market was re-regulated on January 1, 2019, due to an increasing number of the population wagering at black market entities, with the move undertaken in a bid for the state to gain a greater control of the country’s online gambling space.

In what is called “the most important effect of the re-regulation,” Treasury cites a significant increase in the proportion of the Swedish populace that now utilise licenced companies.

“This means that a larger part of the gambling takes place with gaming companies that comply with Swedish gaming legislation and pay tax in Sweden,” the report reads.

“The state’s increased control over the gaming market also means that the state has better opportunities to, among other things, counteract match-fixing and regulate the content of gaming advertising.”

However, despite acknowledging that stricter requirements has led to stronger consumer protection, it’s noted that “more can be done to reduce the negative consequences of gambling”.

It is said that there’s a need for regulation of how gaming companies may process personal data in order to counteract excessive gambling, in addition to greater knowledge being required of what effect different measures have on players’ behaviour.

“The re-regulation has to a large extent preserved the conditions for the association’s life to take part of the income from games, with the exception of the associations behind the bingo halls,” the report continues.

“The state’s conditions for taking part in the income from gambling have also been preserved to a great extent.”

Furthermore, the State Treasury has also outlined a series of recommendations that it says would lead to a “better functioning gaming market,” which includes the need to increase knowledge of channelisation as well as entering into alliances with other EU countries against unlicensed gaming companies.

Moreover, the Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling regulator, is also urged to develop its communication with the gaming industry, as well as its knowledge about which players will be suspended from gambling and what the consequences will be.

Treasury has also suggested that there’s a “need for further follow-up and evaluation in the gaming area after our assignment,” which includes a recommendation for the SGA to regularly report on channelisation.

It also recommends that the Spelinspektionen produce an annual report on match-fixing, as well as calling on the Swedish Public Health Agency to monitor the development of gambling problems within the framework of the agency’s regular assignment.

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A memorandum with proposals has been submitted for consultation until May 9, 2022, and, if adopted to enter into force, they would be applicable from March 1, 2023.

Under the proposals, the application fee for a gaming software licence would amount to SEK 120,000, with it anticipated that in the region of 70 applicants “can reasonably be expected,” although it is added that the assessment “is somewhat uncertain”.

“Because there is already an established land game software development, and taking into account the proposed levels of fees, the proposals are judged to have only a marginal impact on conditions of competition,” the government memorandum notes.

The fee for an application for renewal of a license for both commercial online gaming and betting is proposed to be increased from SEK 300,000 to SEK 600,000.

Previous statements regarding the “marginal impacts” of competition are echoed, with the government noting that the figure is still “relatively low” when compared to the overall size of the country’s digital marketplace. Licenses fees, it says, correspond to 0.03 per cent of total turnover.

“The current fee for renewing a license for both commercial online gambling and betting do not take into account the Spelinspektionen’s actual costs of such an application,” it is stated.

“The same handling measures needed in principle are taken in the case of a renewal of a licence as in the case of a new application.” 

It is also suggested that if the licensee is not resident or established in a country within the European Economic Area, it must have a physical representative who is resident in Sweden.

Moreover, a number of other amendments are also proposed “as a result of the new requirement for a license for gaming software”.

This, the government added, proposes that a “requirement be introduced for those who have a permit for gaming software to save data for as long as is necessary for the Spelinspektionen to be able to exercise its supervision. 

“It is further proposed that the Spelinspektionen may charge a fee from a licensee for the supervision exercised by the authority. 

“Finally, it is proposed that Spelinspektionen may issue regulations on what information about the licensee’s activities that the licensee shall provide to Spelinspektionen for its supervisory activities.”

This comes after the Swedish government proposed further regulatory reforms for the country’s online gambling market earlier this year, with an ambition of ensuring strong consumer protection and a long-term sustainable gaming market.

Among other things, the motions for the Swedish online ecosystem intend to put an end to “aggressive gambling advertising on the most dangerous games,” as well as exclude illegal players from the region’s digital marketplace.

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The mandates, which first came into play on July 2, 2020, “as a result of the prevailing pandemic,” will end on November 14, 2021, as first confirmed in May.

The rules, which were said to be are aimed at “particularly risky forms of gambling,” include provisions such as deposit limits for games at online casinos amounting to a maximum of SEK 5,000, with the corresponding loss limit applying to games at ATMs.

It is also mandatory for users to set limits on playing time when playing at online casinos and ATMs, with bonuses offered by licensees who provide online casinos and ATMs only permitted to amount to a maximum of SEK 100.

Alongside the cessation, the government has also instructed the Spelinspektionen, Swedish’s gambling authority, to evaluate the temporary gaming responsibility measures to follow up and analyse how forms of gaming and accessibility to the activity develop in the short and long term.

Furthermore, this also includes proposing measures to strengthen consumer protection in the gaming market, in a bid to “counteract public health problems”.

The Spelinspektionen shall, no later than March 15, 2022, submit a partial report on the first part of the assignment concerning the evaluation of the temporary gaming responsibility measures. The assignment must be finalised no later than October 31, 2023.

“Turnover in the gaming market has increased and online gaming has probably benefited from changed consumption patterns since the reregulation,” stated Ardalan Shekarabi, minister of social insurance.

“There is a risk that this has led to a long-term behavioral change with increased gambling. This is a development that should be followed up to see if there is a need for further measures.”

A number of extensions to the mandates, which were initially slated to expire before the close of the past year. have been implemented since introduction, and have been consistently criticised by several figures throughout the industry.

Last month, Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of BOS, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, called on the country’s government to lift the temporary restrictions for online casinos from September 29.

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The certification, gained via iTech Labs, will ensure that the firm’s games, such as Valhöll: Hall of the Slain, Valley of the Muses and Alchemister, will join new release Rooftop Fight on the roster of online casinos in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Mads Jørgensen, Lady Luck Games’ co-founder and CEO, said the regulatory approval would provide a significant commercial boost to the studio in its quest for international expansion.

“We are very confident that our games portfolio has universal appeal and having this certification is an important step in proving that,” he said of the array of approvals. 

“Access to market is hugely important for any company in any industry and we now have a real opportunity to take great strides as a business.”

This comes after Lady Luck Games recently acquired fellow provider Spigo’s operations in Denmark, including the studio’s casino games, eight customer integrations and Spigo Station, the supplier’s Denmark-certified platform.

“Spigo’s B2B assets give us instant access to a much wider portfolio of games, customers and offerings. It’s also an important new revenue source for us. Last, but very much not least, we have inherited some really good people,” Jørgensen comments regarding the purchase,” Jørgensen recently told CasinoBeats about he group’s latest purchase and benefits to be felt moving forward.

“Spigo has eight very interesting customer integrations, with Danske Spil being the biggest and best-known. There are also 27 casual casino games, a category that we might not necessarily have developed ourselves. 

“Then there’s the Denmark-certified content aggregation platform that allows us to deploy both single-player and multiplayer games with jackpots. Content aggregation is a totally new option for Lady Luck Games.”

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The company’s subsidiary, Evoke Gaming, has been demanded by the Swedish gambling regulator to re-verify player accounts registered by its brands during the January to July 2019 period.

The investigation focused on Evoke’s management of its licencing duties, in which customers had to be verified to the standards of the new Swedish Gambling Act brought into force from January 1, 2019.

In compliance with the new orders, Evoke allowed its existing customers to ‘manually confirm’ their details by registering personal documents as ID-verification. However, this was deemed insufficient by the Spelinspektionen, as the documents registered could not verify customers’ address, IP and social security numbers as ID requirements needed to comply with Gambling Act rules.

Despite Evoke’s response in stating that it had required existing customers to manually submit ID documents recommended by the Gambling Act – drivers licence, passports and national ID cards – Spelinspektionen outlined that licenced operators are required to carry out customer background checks on social security numbers to verify against the national self-exclusion registry of Spelpaus.se.

As a result, Evoke has been ordered to submit a report to the inspectorate no later than November 9, 2021 outlining the measures it has taken to re-verify customers playing during the disputed period.

Forming part of William Hill’s European online gambling subsidiary, Mr Green, Evoke gaming was fined €3m this month by Spelinspektionen in relation to AML and failure of customer care duties.

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