Swedish gambling trade association BOS has called on the government to reword the Gambling Act due to a “loophole” which it says is fuelling illegal operators in the country.
BOS said the current wording of the legislation makes it “perfectly legal” for unlicensed operators to accept Swedish consumers so long as they avoid using the Swedish language and Swedish currency, krona.
BOS said the government changed the application of the Gambling Act compared to the original proposal presented by the Gambling License Investigation ahead of the re-regulation in 2019.
The original proposal, it added, wanted to “criminalise companies in general that lack a Swedish gambling licence that still accept Swedish gambling consumers.”
The association now wants the government to amend the Gambling Act to reflect the Gambling License Investigation’s proposal.
The “loophole” has led to a “massive influx of unlicensed gambling offers into the Swedish gambling market,” BOS said.
In its current application of the government’s legislation, the Swedish gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, has successfully cracked down on several companies operating illegally who are judged to be targeting Swedish players through their use of language or currency.
Companies such as Goodwin, Versus Odds and Cosmogames have all been hit with regulatory action.
In a letter to the Swedish Ministry of Finance, BOS said: “Most Swedes understand English and understand the value of commonly used foreign currencies, such as the euro.
“There is therefore no real possibility for the government to initiate any effective measure with the scope of application of the Gaming Act chosen by the government to make it more difficult for Swedish gambling customers to freely choose to play at gambling companies that are not licensed in Sweden.
“This means that the focus is instead on licensed gambling companies meeting demand.
“BOS has raised this problem with both the previous and current governments, but so far, no action has been taken.”
“It is completely inadequate that around a quarter of all gambling is unlicensed, not least given the total absence of consumer protection on the black gambling market,” added BOS secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt.
“If we are to succeed in eliminating this part of the gambling market, the Gambling Act must be amended and all unlicensed gambling must be criminalised.”
Read more: BOS: Swedish gambling operators need 'detailed' AML manual
