Swedish Government to launch illegal gambling review

The task has been assigned to Gunnar Larsson, director general of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, who will investigate how the market can be strengthened in its channelisation an anti-match fixing efforts.

Larsson will investigate how the market can be better supervised to combat unlicensed gambling companies, including looking into issues raised by the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) regarding payment blocking.

In regards to match-fixing, the government said it is aiming for collaboration between authorities, sports organisations and gaming companies. Larsson will therefore work to ensure there is communication between the relevant bodies.

The inquiry will also see Larsson review the SGA and Match Fixing Council’s work in combatting match-fixing to date.

Ardalan Shekarabi, minister of social security in Sweden, said: “We have a responsibility to protect, above all, vulnerable consumers from illegal gambling, but also to protect the serious players in the gambling market from unfair competition. 

“Increased efforts are needed to exclude illegal gambling from the Swedish gambling market. 

“We are now also intensifying the work against match-fixing and organized crime.”

Earlier this month, the SGA published the results of a survey which showed only 5% of Swedish gamblers know how to check if an online sportsbook or casino holds a Swedish license.

The survey found that eight out of ten Swedes had not played at a site without a license in the previous year. However, survey organisers Novus said this number could be much lower due to the lack of awareness surrounding license holders.

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Owain Flanders

Journalist

Owain Flanders is a journalist who spent over a year with Gambling Insider, first joining as an Editorial Intern in August 2019 before progressing to Staff Writer from November 2019 to December 2020. During his tenure, he covered a wide range of developments across the global gambling and iGaming sectors, producing original news stories, in-depth features and analytical pieces for the Gambling Insider website and its bi-monthly magazine.

Owain interviewed CEOs, analysts and senior marketing executives on emerging trends, regulatory issues and commercial strategy, bringing authoritative insight to a professional B2B audience.

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