Sweden could end monopoly after EC refers country to Court of Justice

The European Commission’s (EC) decision to refer Sweden to the European Court of Justice (CJEU) over its “non-compliant” online gambling laws has been welcomed by the industry after the announcement prompted the Swedish government into promising an acceleration of planned regulatory reforms.

Yesterday afternoon the EC announced that it had referred Sweden to the CJEU almost a year after it first launched infringement proceedings against the country arguing its current regulations to be uncompliant with EU law.

The EC said Sweden’s regulatory framework, which grants state-owned monopoly Svenska Spel the exclusive rights to operate and advertise online betting and poker services, was inconsistent with its aims of preventing problem gambling and criminal activities and lacks the required state controls.

“The Commission is of the opinion that the exclusive right holder is not subject to adequate control by the Swedish authorities and that the restrictive policy in the area of poker games is not consistent as the Swedish authorities tolerate the unauthorised offer and promotion of poker games,” a statement read.

Maarten Haijer, secretary general at the European Gaming & Betting Association, said that the EC’s decision was a “breakthrough” that showed “strong commitment to upholding fundamental European freedoms”.

“Sweden was given many years to bring its legislation into conformity but regretfully there was little commitment to change,” Haijer said.

“No Member State regardless of its size should be exempt from scrutiny, however EGBA stands ready to support any Member State that now decides to reform their legislation to ensure compliance with EU rules,” he added.

Emil Sunvisson, CEO at Swedish gaming group Cherry AB echoed Haijer’s comments and added that the current system was “discriminating and out of proportion”.

The country has responded by pledging to accelerate reforms of its licensing process and Ardalan Shekarabi, Swedish minister for public administration, said the country’s gambling regulator (Lotteriinspektionen) would be strengthened as part of the process.

In August Håkan Hallstedt, director-general of the Lotteriinspektionen, said the country needed a back-up plan for its online legislation and expressed fears that an EC decision against the country’s Lottery Act would allow unlicensed operators to take advantage of what would become a grey market.

Sweden has been known to be exploring the possibility of installing a regulatory system similar to that of Denmark, however recent general elections in the country are thought to have delayed any progress until now.

“Hopefully we will see Sweden implement a Danish mode within the current mandate period, thereby ending the monopoly,” Sunvisson said.

A spokesperson for the Swedish Gambling Authority declined to comment on this story.