Swedish Gaming Authority, Gambling Inspectorate, announced in a statement on its website today that the government has requested one review of the gaming market in the country. The regulator also confirmed that restrictions on online gaming operators will be lifted November 14, 2021.

Evaluation of restrictions on online gaming

The Swedish government instructed the supervisory authority to evaluate the effect of all temporary measures on online gambling, related to the prevention of gambling damage, in the light of the latest development of forms of gambling and the availability of gambling.

The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate is expected to submit an interim report at the latest March 15, 2022, which covers the first part of the review, the evaluation of the restrictions imposed on online gaming operators. The second part of the review, including proposals for measures to strengthen consumer protection and combat public health problems, should be completed by October 31, 2023.

In the review, the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate should take into account any changes in consumers’ gaming patterns as the gaming market’s turnover has increased, driven by the demand for online gaming, which suggests a possible long-term change in gaming behavior that may need to be followed up and re-addressed.

Restrictions to remain until November 14

Restrictions imposed on licensed online gaming operators in Sweden during the period of coronavirus-related locks will be lifted in the middle of time November as initially announced, the national gaming regulator informed all interested parties today.

Forced from July 1, 2020, and extended several times since then, put the restrictions on a ceiling SEK 5,000 ($ 600) on the player’s weekly deposits and reduced the amount of customer bonus incentives offered by operators to SEK100 ($ 12), which wants to protect the public from an increase in gambling addiction.

The policy, introduced as an initiative of the Minister of Social Affairs Ardalan Shekarabi, was reviewed on a three-month basis and extended several times. The last one was on 20 May 2021, when it was decided that the restrictions will apply until 14 November 2021.

The frustration in the online gaming industry went off at the end of September when the government announced the lifting of restrictions on the public, which got Sweden’s body for online gaming associations. Industry Association for Online Games (BIM) to call on the government to lift the restrictions from the same date; September 29, for online gaming operators.

Although they claimed that the restriction on deposits further impaired the government’s ability to achieve its 90% channeling target, BOS’s call fell on deaf ears, as the authorities believed that the long period of locks, which forced many people to spend more time at home, could lead to to an increase in gambling problems.