The Swedish Online Gambling Trade Association (BOS) urges the Ministry of Finance to amend the Gambling Act, pointing out that the law has legal loopholes that allow unlicensed gambling operators to target Swedish players as long as they avoid using the Swedish language or currency.
Swedbank believes that this regulatory loophole has led to a surge in unlicensed gambling activities, undermining consumer protection and reducing the effectiveness of the regulated Swedish gambling market.
This loophole appeared when the Swedish government amended the original proposal of the "Gambling License Investigation" before the Gambling Act was introduced in 2019.
The initial proposal aimed to criminalize any operators accepting Swedish players without a license, regardless of the language or currency used.
However, the final version of the bill only applies to gambling sites that explicitly market their services in Swedish or conduct transactions in Swedish kronor, allowing many offshore operators to circumvent the restrictions.
It is worth noting that the trade body emphasizes that currently about 25% of gambling activities in Sweden occur outside the licensing system, exposing players to higher risks and lacking safeguards.
Swedbank urges the government to revert to the original proposal, making all unlicensed gambling illegal, thus plugging the loophole and increasing Sweden's channelization rate, i.e., the percentage of players using legal, regulated services.
Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary-General of the Swedish Gambling Authority, commented on the request, saying: "Sweden should eradicate unlicensed gambling. About a quarter of gambling is unlicensed, which is completely inappropriate, especially considering there is no consumer protection on the black market.
"If we are to successfully eliminate this part of the gambling market, we must amend the Gambling Act and criminalize all unlicensed gambling."
