Swedish government proposes complete ban on gambling with credit
The move would also require operators to take steps to discourage gambling with credit.
Sweden.- The Swedish government has proposed that the Gambling Act 2018 be amended to introduce a ban on licensed gambling operators and gambling agents allowing or contributing to gambling financed with credit. The move would represent an extension of the ban that currently exists on licensees providing credit for gambling.
Currently, gambling on credit is only banned if the credit is provided directly by a licensed gambling operator or their agents, which means that players can still gamble using credit obtained from other sources. The proposed law is intended to close this gap.
Licensees would be prohibited from accepting bets known to be financed by borrowed funds and from processing payments made with credit cards. The change in legislation would also require licensees and gaming agents to take measures to prevent and discourage gambling from being financed with credit. This could take the form of signage at physical venues and notifications in online games.
The purpose of the new regulation is to prevent indebtedness due to gambling for money, the government said. It highlighted research that established a connection between gambling and financial over-indebtedness.
The requirements would apply to all forms of gambling that are subject to licensing and regardless of how the game is provided, be it online or at land-based venues. However, the Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen would have the power to decide on exemptions from the bans for certain operators with a licence to offer gambling for public benefit purposes.
The legislative amendments are proposed to enter into force on April 1, 2026. If enacted, the national gambling regulator Spelinspektionen would oversee enforcement of the new rules with support from the financial regulator Finansinspektionen and the consumer agency Konsumentverket.
Spelinspektionen will have the power to impose penalties including fines, temporary suspensions, or licence revocation for serious breaches.
Swedish Gambling Act review
Meanwhile, the government-commissioned review of the Swedish Gambling Act of 2018 has concluded with a proposal to clarify and expand its scope of application. Investigator Marcus Isgren, who was appointed in February to lead the review, has proposed in his report that the legislation be amended to remove the “so-called directional criterion”, under which only online games specifically aimed at the Swedish market are covered by the law.
This detail of the act has led to enforcement challenges for the Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen, which has found itself only able to take action against unlicensed operators if it can find evidence of them targeting Swedish players, for example, by using the Swedish language or listing Swedish krona as a payment method.
Under Isgren’s proposal, instead of focusing on whether an online game is aimed at Sweden, the scope of application of the Gambling Act would be based on a participant perspective, where the decisive question is whether persons who are in Sweden can participate in the gaming offer.
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