Sweden to Extend Limits on Online Casinos until June 2021

Sweden Government aims to expand the new gaming laws pertaining to COVID-19 during June 2021. A Memorandum was sent for review until 23 November.

Sweden Struggles With An Expansion Of Ad-Hoc Gambling Controls After Lockdown

As part of the country's reaction to the novel coronavirus epidemic, Sweden is keen to implement the existing prohibitions on the gambling industry and expand them further into June 2021, the Government said.

Long kept as an example of the treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sweden was among the first countries to introduce and implement comprehensive anti-gambling laws that would restrict loss levels and gaming sessions in a manner that better protects customers.

The change triggered a polemic with leaders of the industry turning to the government and demanding a more lenient policy. However, a new proposals for Memorandum are now in the works, and it will be up for review until 23 November 2020, following which the original series accepted in July will be extended.

Minister of Social Security Ardalan Shekarabi warned that the government had focused on the implementation of the latest steps as the country is fighting the outbreak, which has taken on more severe proportions.

Gambling was one of the places where flaws were still apparent, according to Shekarabi, and needed a proactive approach to minimize the outstanding risks. The initiatives drafted include a deposit limit of SEK 5,000, as well as a required time limit and bonus limits of up to SEK 100.

There were plenty of skeptics at the time the first steps were carried out. Also the Swedish Gaming Authority (Spelinspektionen) indicated that if the market were over-regulated, this might render the operators' gaming environment inefficient and push players to rely on unregulated offshore operators where customer safety is low.

A survey performed in June by psychiatrist Anders C. Håkansson found that Swedish gamblers bet more during the lockdown while the National Association of Gambling Addicts argued that the first results would be available late in the autumn.

Reduced Contact In Public, Increased Desire For Reckless Gambling

The government's stance is driven by the fact that more people are likely to engage in risky gambling activity due to the closure of a number of land-based facilities, and the resultant social alienation and economic insecurity of society, resulting in a financial loss.

The Swedish trade group BOS argued against the first steps that the traffic to licensed operators could collapse to as little as 60% as a result.

LeoVegas Chief Executive Gustaf Hagman also warned that the pandemic's continuing decline had impacted the Nordics. Because of the constraints LeoVegas saw sales decline by 20%.