Sweden’s Moderaterna Party to Overhaul Gambling

The Moderaterna Party in Sweden has submitted its provisional mandate in which it lays out its plans to overhaul the gambling industry in the country if it wins the elections this autumn. The mandate has been submitted to the Riksdag, the highest-decision-making assembly in Sweden.

Svenska Spel Will Be Separated into Two Entities

Gambling laws in Sweden were lastly changed in 2019 and now, the Moderaterna Party has formed a four-party-wing bloc that will go up against the government coalition led by Magdalena Andersson, the Social Democrat Prime Minister.

Elections are scheduled for September 9 and according to Moderaterna, Svenska Spel, the current state-owned gambling operator, will be split into two entities.

The first entity is called monopoly gaming and it will be reserved for keno and lottery, while the second entity is competitive gaming and it concerns the sports betting and gambling units. Moderaternastates that operating a gambling business shouldn’t be a state requirement, which is why it will instruct the government to sell the competitive gaming entity.

Moreover, Moderaterna thinks that the government should have limited power when it comes to changing gambling laws, which is why it called for constitutional provisions of the Swedish Gambling Act. With these provisions, the government would need the green light from the Riksdag before making any changes in gambling regulation.

The Online Gambling Trade Association of Sweden’s Secretary-General Supports These Changes

Gustaf Hoffstedt, the secretary-general of the Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS), the online gambling trade association of Sweden, voiced his support for the proposed changes in the country’s gambling industry.

He stated that he welcomes the fact that the Moderate Party wants to privatize commercial gambling. In doing so, the state will set the standards of the gambling market and it will make companies comply with these rules. That’s a far better option as opposed to being “an active player on the market itself,” Hoffstedt stated.

One additional significant change in gambling regulation concerns the reversal of the government’s decision to have gambling under adjusted moderation for advertising. The Moderate Party thinks that it is too early to implement changes in marketing and added that it sees the current marketing relation as “worrying.”

It elaborated by saying that there’s a risk of damaging the regulated market if players that have a high level of consumer protection do not have the chance to advertise their products.

The Moderate Party urges the Spelinspektionen to develop a Spelpaus website where problem gamblers will be able to receive support and help and noted that further proposals that will counter match-fixing are extremely needed.

Finally, the opposition party noted that the Gaming Act should be evaluated and its consequences on the market should be conducted in 2-3 years.