The Swedish Ministry of Finance has submitted to the European Commission (EC) its proposed amendments to the 2018 Gambling Act.
Following the Spelmarknadsutredningen independent investigation of Sweden's regulated gaming business, the Act has been amended. Anna-Lena Sorenson, a Social Democrat member of parliament, conducted the investigation in 2020.
The proposed reforms include recommendations on consumer safeguards, safer gaming, and additional regulations and standards for market integrity.
The Ministry of Finance accepted these revisions to the Gambling Act, and the Swedish Law Council has since approved them. It is anticipated that these amendments will be enacted no later than July 1, 2023.
According to the amended Gaming Act, all gambling providers must notify to the Swedish police any client suspected of engaging in illegal behaviour. In addition, payment service providers (PSPs) will be required to reveal information used to process transactions for any unregistered enterprises offering gambling services on the Swedish market.
The Swedish Law Council has accepted requests that the gaming inspectorate Spelinspektionen be granted immediate authority to enforce payment blockages without judicial authorisation or warrants.
In addition, the Swedish Sports Federation will be permitted to examine operator data (if necessary) in order to investigate match-fixing and sports corruption.
The EU Commission must now assess the proposed revisions to verify that they do not violate EU competition laws.
The Swedish government intends to finish stage-2 of gaming industry changes prior to the 9 September General Elections.
By fLEXI tEAM