Sweden’s Svenska Spel in trouble for violating state rules for gambling ads
Posted on: January 31, 2023, 12:55 p.m.
Last updated: January 31, 2023, 12:55 p.m.
If the rules and regulations are designed for everyone in a particular industry, even government entities don’t get a free pass. This is the position of Sweden’s online gambling trade association, which went after Svenska Spel and won.
The online gaming industry association (BOS, for its Swedish abbreviation), an association for online gambling operators, filed a complaint against Svenska Spel for the advertising they produced for TV. In it, participants played keno and scratched off lottery tickets as they tried to win prizes.
But according to Swedish advertising regulations, it is taboo. The show was on a free-to-air TV channel, meaning anyone could watch it, and BOS said.
Svenska Spel commits a foul
BOS submitted a complaint to the Swedish Press and TV Authority (SPBA) about the gaming operator’s recurring features on the free TV4 channel. It argued that the broadcasts were advertising, not part of editorial TV programming.
The complaint further noted that the segment does not provide any consumer protection required by law. SPBA agreed and confirmed BOS’ position that Svenska Spel and TV4 violated the Radio and Television Act (RTA).
The supervisory authority states that there is no doubt that the segments TV4 has broadcast constitute advertising and not editorial material. There it was emphasized that Svenska Spel paid for the productions at the same time that TV4 also received compensation from the operator. Despite the fact that TV4 called the compensation sponsorship, the board considers it to be advertising, according to RTA.
Swedish advertising regulations state that companies must create and present all marketing campaigns to ensure that consumers know it is marketing. The RTA specifies that there must be a way to distinguish all advertisements from all other content. That feature must appear before and after the location.
Since there was no such function, both the operator and TV4 violated the RTA. Consequently, Svenska Spel will have to stop broadcasting and TV4 will have to pay a fine. The SPBA has already forwarded its recommendation to an administrative court and requested a fine of SEK 100,000 ($9,560).
Svenska Spel IA Bad Spot
There have recently been calls for Svenska Spel to become one Private business. These are just discussions with no specific trajectory yet, but the operator sometimes deals with issues that can move the talks forward.
On Saturday, Svenska Spel had some technical problems – both digitally and at retail. The problems started at 10am and were not resolved until 4.30pm.
Users complained that they could not log in, bet or make payments. It was apparently a system-wide failure, although Svenska Spel did not elaborate on the details.
Saturday is usually a big day for the Swedish players. Many participate in English football betting pools, known locally as Stryktipset, but not this time. With less than an hour left until the matches, Svenska Spel was still looking for a solution.
The consequence was that many players could not leave their bets. Local media reported that, where there is usually a turnover of SEK 25 million (US$2.4 million) with Stryktipset, it was only SEK 17 million (US$1.62 million).