Swedish government hands gambling regulator a boost in the battle against illicit gambling activities
In a bid to fight multiple activities threatening the integrity of iGaming in the regulated gambling market of Sweden, the nation’s Government, Regeringskansliet, has increased the funding for the Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen. The boost sees an addition of SEK 2.4 million ($239,000) that will be added to the regulator’s funding this year and are expected to be utilized to upgrade measures in the active battle against illicit activities like unlicensed gambling, money laundering, and match-fixing.
The Swedish government has increased funding for the Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen.
©Tushar Mahajan/Unsplash
Gambling activity is increasing year after year in the regulated market of Sweden. In 2021, the revenue from licensed gambling operators was SEK 26 billion, which marked a five percent year-on-year increase that year. The latest annual report published by the regulator last month for 2022 marked a 5.1 percent spike after the licensed operators roped in revenue of SEK 27.4 billion. Amidst all this, quite a few illegal gambling operators generated their revenue by targeting Swedish gamblers without the country’s official gambling license. Multiple market sweeps helped the Spelinspektionen detect the operations of these illegal operators, and the necessary measures were taken. However, that is not the end, as the battle against illegal operators and gambling regulators continues, not just in Sweden but across all the regulated gambling markets worldwide. Under Chapter 18, Section 23 of the Gambling Act, the Swedish Gambling Authority has blocked several unlicensed operators in the country. In February this year, the regulator announced the blocking of almost 30 more illegal domains.
Towards the end of 2019, Spelinspektionen derived and published a new strategy to tackle the rampant problem of illegal gambling in the country. Concerns around player safety and tax revenue forced the regulator step up its effort in the battle. This year, the Swedish Gambling Authority can take another step or even a giant leap forward in the same battle after receiving additional funds from the country’s government. As part of the Spring 2023 Amendment Budget, the regulator will receive an additional sum of SEK 2.4 million ($239,000) this year. The aforementioned budget confirmation is expected to be announced this month, while its passage is scheduled for June this year. The government has allocated extra funding to improve measures to combat illegal gambling and other illicit activities like match-fixing and money laundering. In addition, the legislature and supreme decision-making body of Sweden, the Riksdag, has been contacted by the government to make blocking player transactions with illegal operators easy and effective for the nation’s regulator.
In December 2022, Spelinspektionen conducted its annual survey to note the gambling activity and gambling behavioral changes in the market that year. The result showed that 72 percent of the total population of Sweden gambled for money in 2022. 85 percent of these players opted for iGaming. Lotteries and number games were the highly active gambling segments. However, another survey conducted just a few months prior to the usual annual survey showed that several Swedes deliberately participated in gambling on domains held by unlicensed operators.
All gambling operators who offer services without the country’s official gambling permit do not pay the license fee and taxes on their Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR). Hence, these operators can allocate those funds to create lucrative bonus offers that lure players onto their platforms. According to the survey, these bonus offers were the primary reason for Swedes’ involvement in illegal gambling platforms. Such bonus offers are banned in many countries, but since unlicensed operators do not abide by the laws, they continue to offer them.
The Sweden Democrats’ Sports Policy Spokesperson, Angelika Bengtsson, specified what the intention behind the government’s decision to allocate additional funds for the nation’s gambling regulator was.
Active supervision of the gaming market is needed to combat criminal activity and protect vulnerable groups. By excluding unlicensed gambling, we want to counter organized crime and strengthen consumer protection. Unlicensed gambling evades tax revenue, leads to problem gambling and contributes to match-fixing.
Sportradar helps in monitoring match-fixing in Sweden
A month before the additional fund allocation was confirmed, the Swedish Gambling Authority shared a report revealing multiple counts of suspicious activities around match-fixing in the country. These activities were detected by Sportsradar, which has helped the Spelinspektionen with match-fixing monitoring since February last year. Sportradar is the global leader in sports technology when it comes to betting, sports, and media. The company provides necessary solutions to over 1,700 in 120 countries. The list of these companies mainly comprises betting operators, sports federations, and media operators.
Between March 2022 and December 2022, Sportradar highlighted 11 competitions that were allegedly impacted by some form of manipulation. Match-fixing is an illicit activity that targets all sports. However, the 11 reports received by Sportsradar and reported by the Swedish regulator were all related to football. Furthermore, these illicit activities were detected in the lower divisions of the country’s football league. No such activity was detected in the country’s top three divisions, Allsvenskan, Superettan, and Ettan Fotboll. In 2021, the suspicious event count was at 53 during 24 different matches. 19 out of those were related to football.
Monitoring of licensed operators also on simultaneously
In December 2022, the government of Sweden revealed an updated four-point plan to fight the activities that threaten the integrity of gambling in the country. The plan was devised keeping unlawful activities like illegal gambling, match-fixing, and money laundering in mind. The government encouraged payment providers to mediate and block player transactions with unlicensed operators, thereby reducing the number of Swedish gamblers on illegal gambling domains.
Another step included a measure to counter match-fixing by asking gambling operators and associations to process and provide personal data of individuals who could be involved in illicit activities like match-fixing or money laundering. In another measure, the government wanted to grant the Swedish Police Authority access to the gambling data of criminals, making licensed operators obligated to share user information of criminals or suspects with the police force of Sweden.
While three measures targeted illegal activities, one of them encouraged the regulator to keep a sharp eye on licensed gambling operators. After gaining a gambling license, all gambling operators must follow the Gambling Law of the country. Failure to do so will result in fines, and repeated violations will force the regulator to suspend the gambling license of the violator. There are numerous operators who sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, violate the law. Hence, the Swedish Government asked the regulator to conduct incognito checks and investigations of licensed operators in the final measure.
