"Problem" in Sweden's black market, say operators

Sweden reaffirms commitment to fight illegal gambling
Sweden continues to actively combat gambling addiction and illegal operators, as Social Affairs Minister Ardalan Shekarabi reiterated the country's commitment to protecting vulnerable consumers during the pandemic and amid ongoing investigations.

The latest measure aims to protect the regulated market as a conduit for good and consumer-oriented industry practices. Sweden has also significantly stepped up its efforts since the country first introduced regulated gambling.

Criminal penalties have been removed for unauthorised gambling companies that operate without official permission from Spelinspektionen, the country's gambling regulator.

Shekarabi said the country was preparing a review of progress. This review will focus on the black market and the continued operation of illegal websites.

In his position as social affairs minister, Shekarabi acted swiftly when the pandemic first hit Sweden last year. The country imposed strict controls on gambling businesses, which stakeholders objected to, arguing that they would strengthen the position of black market companies and make their businesses uncompetitive.

These fears continue today, as companies warn that their distribution rate - roughly a measure of new customer acquisition - has fallen to 75%.

Most of these measures stem from restrictions imposed by Shekarabi himself last year, including loss limits, session limits and no bonuses beyond the sign-up offer. These were recently extended until June.

However, while the regulated market is playing ball, unregulated websites have used a marketing technique that allows them to appear when looking for people wishing to play on websites not listed on Spelpaus, Sweden's self-exclusion register.

Illegal operators continue to target vulnerable players
According to Rightlander, which conducted a review of the Swedish market in January 2021, illegal gambling sites have used specific keyword targeting to provide access to vulnerable players - a covert affiliate strategy that regulators look down on and sanction. A total of 98 websites were blocked.

Around 30 websites were allowing consumers to gamble online without having to register accounts, potentially referring to cryptocasinos, which in most cases do not require traditional KYC and AML checks. A detailed overview of these sites and much more information can be found at https://casinonutansvensklicens.org/.

At the time, Reitlander emphasised how easy it was to circumvent the strict restrictions that local operators must comply with, while illegitimate websites could still target customers.

Reitlander added that without a proper solution to the problem of offshore websites, customers would remain vulnerable. The next review of gambling in Sweden should focus on a successful way to limit these websites' access to at-risk players, if the measures introduced by Shekarabi last year are to make any sense.

The investigation is being led by Gunnar Larsson, director general of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, and is expected to be completed in April.