Payment processor in Sweden to act as illegal gambling police
Posted on: December 23, 2022, 8:40 am.
Last updated: 23 December 2022, 08:40.
Although Sweden’s gaming regulator once said it would not crack down on unlicensed iGaming operators, that is changing. Next year, online payment processors will help police the online gaming space.
Sweden is make changes to its 2018 Gambling Act legislation which it says will help clean up the regulated space and provide better protections. They want to introduce regulations that require payment service providers to be more proactive in monitoring their operations.
When the law enters into force next summer, payment providers must report payments made by Swedes to unlicensed persons iGaming platforms. This was previously impossible due to language in data protection laws, but the legislative reform looks set to override these controls.
Private Payments Police
The reform repeals existing laws that prohibit payment providers from disclosing private information. Going forward, these providers will be required to inform the government of all payments sent to unlicensed online gaming operators.
The updated laws do not necessarily define the outcome; the suppliers only report questionable payments. It will be up to Spelinspektionen, the country’s gambling supervisory authority, and government authorities to take the necessary measures.
This summer, Swedish lawmakers rejected a plan that would have allowed the Swedish Gambling Authority to automatically block all unlicensed online gambling platforms. At the same time, the regulator still had the power to take legal action against any violators.
The new reform could achieve the same end result, but through different methods. The bill includes language that allows the Gambling Authority to set up fake gambling accounts to play or place sports bets on unlicensed sites. This will enable it to indisputably determine whether the platform is accessible from within Sweden.
Self-exclusion review
The government has also decided to give the Gambling Authority a new task. It will need to examine the reasons why people choose to exclude themselves from gambling. Sweden has a national online self-exclusion platform, spelpaus.se, where consumers can register if they want to be blocked from gambling.
The platform acts as a registry and the regulated gaming industry must track its activity. The Swedish Gambling Inspectorate must also review the percentage of those suspended who choose to play with gambling companies without a Swedish license.
The ability to disconnect games via spelpaus.se is an important measure to counter gambling abuse and protect consumers. However, Swedish authorities feel that there is a lack of sufficient knowledge about why people withdraw from gambling. In addition, they do not have data on the percentage of those who self-exclude gambling on regulated sites.
The State Treasury considers this to be a problem, as it makes it more difficult to analyze the revenue adequately. As such, Financial Markets Minister Niklas Wykman initiated a law update that requires the Gambling Authority to collect more data.
Wykman also wants to better understand the scope of the spelpaus.se platform. He wants to know whether it should include additional options, such as longer suspensions or blocking of individual forms of gambling, to offer better protection to consumers.
The Swedish Gambling Authority must deliver its results and recommendations by the end of October next year at the latest.