Swedish self-exclusions hit 10,000 in first week of new regulatory regime

Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has confirmed that 10,000 people have signed up for its voluntary self-exclusion register within the first week of launch.

The register, which is accessible on the Spelpaus.se website, enables individuals to exclude themselves from all licensed Swedish egaming sites for a fixed period or until further notice.

Spelinspektionen has confirmed that most of the individuals who have elected to self-exclude have done so until further notice.

A spokesperson for Spelinspektionen welcomed the high registration figures, adding: “Game abuse is a widespread social problem, so it is positive that so many find the new service and use it as a tool to refrain from gaming and avoid direct advertising from the gaming companies.”

As part of the new regulations, which were unveiled in October, any licensed operator is required to display links to the Spelpaus.se website on their respective egaming site.

They must also regularly cross-check its records against those of the regulator to ensure that any self-excluded person does not receive any marketing materials or access to games during their self-exclusion period.

However, Spelinspektionen confirmed the discovery of “shortcomings” in its cross-checking mechanism due to some licence holders not possessing an active connection to the Spelpaus.se register, resulting in self-excluded players being able to access egaming sites.

The regulator confirmed that it has sent letters to two companies, Aspire Global and Genesis Global, asking them to provide an explanation of why they had failed to connect to the register, consequently allowing self-excluded individuals to access egaming sites.

Spelinspektionen also highlighted the seriousness of the issue, adding that “measures will be taken” if the problem is not resolved within a timely manner, but refused to comment further on what these measures would entail.