Spelinspektionen Unveils Nationwide Gambling Awareness Campaign

Spelinspektionen, which is the Swedish Gaming Authority, recently unveiled a nationwide campaign designed to heighten awareness of its rules and regulations that govern the gambling industry in Sweden. 

This two week campaign will run between late December and early January and will feature advertisements placed prominently on billboards, newspapers, magazines, and websites. Spelinspektionen has earmarked a budget of SEK 2.5 million for the upcoming campaign, which is a fraction of the advertising budgets of many online gambling companies. 

Anders Sims, communications manager for Spelinspektionen said that this campaign was designed to provide Swedish citizens with more information regarding the legalised gambling market and the operators they can trust. 

One of the campaign’s main goals is to persuade Swedish gamers to play with licensed gambling firms, and avoid underground companies that operate in Sweden illegally. When a player accesses a licensed casino they can be assured that they will not be cheated as the online operator has to fully comply with the gaming regulations laid down by Spelinspektionen. If they encounter a problem while playing at a licensed site, they always have recourse.

On the other hand, when players visit unlicensed websites they can be exploited and have no recourse. This is one of the clear messages that Spelinspektionen wishes to highlight during its two week campaign and get Swedish players to play only with licensed casino operators.

Aggressive Enforcement Approach

Spelinspektionen has been in the news a number of times for aggressively pursuing gambling operators who have been caught breaking Sweden’s gambling regulations. Most recently, Spelinspektionen issued a warning Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) for permitting bookmakers who lacked the requisite permissions to operate at racetracks.

The gaming regulator also went after Global Gaming this year as the operator was accused of not doing enough to stop money-laundering and promote responsible gaming. Spelinspektionen alleged that Global Gaming did not fully comply with gaming regulations and decided to revoke the operators gaming license – sending a strict warning to the rest of the gaming industry. 

Spelinspektionen also went on to impose 21 fines on gaming operators in 2019 as the watchdog continues to emphasize gaming compliance at all times. However, only one of these operators has paid the fine as the rest of the operators have decided to lodge an appeal and oppose the fine. 

Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) which is the association of gambling operators in Sweden criticised Spelinspektionen’s regulations, characterising them as vague but Spelinspektionen has justified its stance saying that gaming operators will be clear about all regulations in a short period of time.