SGA and IBIA pen memorandum of understanding to strengthen sports betting integrity
Pair will share information on suspicious betting activity in Swedish sport as part of landmark agreement
The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen sports betting integrity in Sweden.
As part of the agreement, the pair will share information on suspicious betting activity in Swedish sport, with the IBIA representing a majority of the SGA-licensed betting market.
Khalid Ali, IBIA CEO, said: “IBIA is delighted to have reached this agreement with the Swedish Gambling Authority. The association is focused on working closely with the SGA to maintain the integrity of Swedish sports and the regulated betting market.
“The IBIA will utilise its global customer account transaction data to identify and report suspicious betting on Swedish sporting events to the SGA and engage in any related investigatory actions. Maintaining the integrity of the market is of paramount importance.”
Camilla Rosenberg, SGA director-general, added: “It is very important to us that information is shared regarding suspicious betting activity in order to maintain the integrity of sports.
“Therefore, we are delighted to have reached this agreement with IBIA which will be beneficial to our coordination of the national platform and general work against match-fixing. We look forward to our cooperation with IBIA.”
The agreement comes as the Swedish government notified the European Commission last month that it would be proposing changes to its Gambling Ordinance.
These changes would make Sweden fully compliant with the Macolin Convention, the international law on the manipulation of sports competitions, and the regulator will set up and run a platform allowing licensed operators and sports federations to share information about suspected match-fixing.
The government is also making proposals that would allow operators to have greater access to customer data to help protect players further.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s government is also embroiled in a battle against industry stakeholders as it looks to increase the country’s GGR tax rate from 18% to 22%.
The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) has been at the centre of this disagreement.
A number of operators have also voiced their views on the proposed tax increases as part of a consultation launched by the BOS. EGR detailed those responses here.