The European Commission has taken two separate decisions to refer Sweden to the Court of Justice of the EU in relation to Swedish legislation for gambling services.

Sweden

Last year, the EC asked Sweden to take action to ensure compliance of its national rules with EU law with regards to online betting and online poker and does not consider the country’s response “satisfactory”.

Consequently, Sweden is referred to the CJEU for imposing restrictions on the organisation and promotion of online betting services in a way that is inconsistent with EU law, the EC said in a statement.

In the case of online poker, the referral to the CJEU is based on restrictions on the provision and promotion of online poker games.

“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,” said the EC statement.