The Swedish government has proposed to sign and ratify the European Commission's Macolin Convention, which aims to regulate international cooperation in combating match-fixing. However, the response from the country's gambling industry has been mixed.
The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS), representing 18 licensed gambling operators in the Swedish market, has welcomed this move. However, the organization has also expressed concerns about the current structure of the convention's supervisory bodies, believing that it unfairly excludes private and publicly listed gambling companies.
Under the current framework, only state-owned gambling companies have full access to key decision-making bodies of the Convention, such as the Copenhagen Group and its subsequent committees.
Swedbank has stated that this is a "serious setback" given that a significant portion of the sports betting market in Sweden, Europe, and globally is dominated by private and publicly listed companies.
Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary-General of the Swedish Online Gambling Trade Association, stated: "We welcome Sweden's signing of the Macolin Convention. However, it must be emphasized that excluding licensed private and publicly listed gambling companies from joint actions against match-fixing is outdated and unreasonable."
It is worth noting that BOS has also called for a redefinition of "illegal sports betting" to enhance international cooperation.
"We urge Sweden to push for changes so that all licensed gambling companies, not just state-owned ones, can fully access the opinions of all bodies of the European Commission," Hoffstedt added.
The association also highlighted issues with the Convention's definition of "illegal sports betting," considering it outdated and potentially hindering international cooperation against match-fixing.
BOS believes that this definition conflicts with EU case law, which allows a licensed operator from one EU country to accept customers from another EU country, even without a local license.
