Swedish Gambling Authority Receives Over 60 Applications for New B2B License
14 months after the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden, Riksdag, proposed introducing and implementing a gaming supplier license for the first time, the Swedish gambling authority, Spelinspektionen, has granted over 15 such licenses after receiving more than 60 applications from several iGaming software providers from around the globe. The gaming supplier licenses will come into effect on July 1st this year and will be valid for five years.
Over 60 operators have applied for the new gaming supplier license under the Riksdag.
©Bru-nO/Pixabay
The regulated gambling market of Sweden is one that many operators and iGaming software providers want to enter to expand their operations after the country’s gambling market monopoly was dissolved in 2019 after introducing a new Gambling Act. State-owned operators like Svenska Spel and ATG remained active but lost their monopoly in the new gambling market of the nation. The Gambling Act also included strong measures to ensure player safety and guidelines to battle the challenges that threaten the integrity of the regulated gambling market. The introduction of a gaming supplier license was proposed last year in January. Its intention was to increase channeling, taking another positive step in the battle against illegal gambling. The gaming supplier license proposal was part of a four-point plan that also included proposals like a ban on illegal gambling advertising, moderating the marketing of licensed gambling to protect the vulnerable audience, and a proposal for licensed operators to share necessary data with the regulator to further improve the nation’s gambling market.
Most of these proposals were supposed to kick in from January this year. However, the application process for gaming supplier licenses commenced in March, and the Swedish gambling authority has received over 60 applications since then. Synot Games, Skill on Net, and Norrkoping AB were the first providers to receive approval for their applications, becoming the first legal and licensed iGaming software suppliers in Sweden. The process of astutely studying license applications before issuing the new B2B license is still ongoing and will be for months to come as numerous entities plan an expansion across Europe by entering the Nordic state. The fee for these new licenses is SEK 120,000, and they will be valid till the end of June 2028 as the duration of each license issued before July starts from 1st July and stays active for five years, after which the software suppliers can opt for a renewal that will extend their legitimacy for another five years. Until now, the Swedish gambling authority has approved over 15 iGaming software licenses.
Spelinspektionen is doing everything in its power to maintain, if not increase, the standards of player safety and integrity in the active gambling market of Sweden. The providers receiving the new B2B licenses will all have to follow the protocol set by the country’s regulator if they want to retain their respective permits. Like the licensed gambling operators in the Nordic state, the service providers must follow a set of rules as the battle against illegal gambling rages on. The licensed suppliers can only offer their services to gambling operators who hold a gambling license that has been issued by Spelinspektionen. Unlicensed operators will not be offered any legal software services, and if it happens, the licensed provider could face a hefty penalty and will also put its permit at stake. Implementing effective measures to combat illegal gambling operators is one of the top priorities for the Swedish gambling authority as the gambling sector grows steadily. In March, Spelinspektionen reported an annual turnover of SEK 27.4 billion in 2022, marking a revenue spike of 5.1 percent. The iGaming and online betting segment grew by over 6 percent.
Lucrative bonuses attracted Swedish gamblers
The regulated gambling market in Sweden is thriving in the post-pandemic ecosystem. That is evident from the figures recorded and published in the country’s annual gambling report published by Spelinspektionen weeks ago. While most of the revenue was collected by licensed operators, a few illegal operators lured Swedish players to their respective unlicensed platforms using attractive bonuses. This information was revealed after 4,400 individuals of gambling age were interviewed as part of a survey. 8 percent of the players who participated in online gambling at least once per quarter gambled on an unlicensed operator’s website.
While most of these players did it unintentionally, a third knew they were gambling on an unlicensed platform. This situation arose solely because of the exclusive offers placed on the table by the unlicensed operators. Since the illegal operators do not pay the license fee and other fees to the regulator of a particular jurisdiction, they utilize those funds to create lucrative bonuses that cannot be offered by any licensed operator in the particular jurisdiction, thereby attracting the attention of gamblers who want to win big even after understanding the risks revolving around it. In addition, the unlicensed operators do not have access to the self-exclusion register, and hence quite a few self-excluded players gambled on such sites.
Lucrative bonuses attracted Swedish gamblers
A month before conducting the survey to understand gambling patterns and how many players were involved in illegal gambling, the Swedish gambling authority announced that it had banned 28 gambling operators that were detected offering gambling services in the country without a valid permit. The list included Curacao-based operator Ease Gaming and famous names like 1XCorp, Luckwin, Viking Technology, and TGI Entertainment.
Operators based in jurisdictions like Curacao and Malta often offer gambling services in regulated gambling markets with lenient gambling laws. However, these gambling operators also venture into gambling markets with strict laws to increase profits. That is how Ease Gaming offered its iGaming services to Swedish players. Upon investigation, Spelinspektionen revealed that while creating an account on Ease Gaming-owned domain Casineia.com, Sweden was selectable as a country.
In addition, the website offered information and customer service in Swedish whilst marketing itself to Swedish players. No unlicensed operator is legally permitted to do so. Hence, the Swedish gambling authority took the necessary steps and banned the operator along with 27 other illegal gambling website owners from the country.
