Sweden implements stricter responsible gambling requirements for operators
New legislation, to come into effect from 1 October, will give the market regulator more control over operators’ responsible gambling action plans
The Swedish government has empowered the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) to set mandatory responsible gambling requirements for operators.
Under the current law, an operator is obliged to submit an action plan for how it will address people suffering from gambling-related harm, outlining how the business will carry out duty of care responsibilities to players across the country.
As per the new legislation, set to come into effect from 1 October, the regulator will be able to set specific requirements for these action plans that operators must adhere to.
The legislation change is resultant of surveys carried out by the SGA, which “noted that the content of different licensees’ action plans varies greatly”.
The regulator reminded operators it is “desirable that all licence holders in their action plans can clearly describe their guidelines for [responsible gambling] and how these are to be implemented”.
Sweden’s minister of financial markets Niklas Wykman said: “There must be order in the gaming market. The new requirement should lead to more detailed action plans so that it becomes clear how the gambling companies take their responsibility to counteract risks related to gambling.
“This strengthens the Swedish Gambling Authority’s ability to prevent people from being affected by the negative aspects of gambling.”
Back in July, Sweden’s biggest operators – Kindred Group, Svenska Spel, ATG and Betsson – released their responsible gambling statistics for the first half of 2024.
Kindred reported 0.44% of its customer base were contacted as a result of being flagged as a problem gambling risk.
The same group for ATG was 1.6%, 1.9% for Betsson, 5.2% for Svenska Spel’s sports and casino arm and 0.5% for its lottery division.