The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) has published a statement on the government’s plan to tackle match-fixing.
The motion in question is ‘Referral Fi2024/00220: A right for licensees to process information about legal violation’, which will allow information on legal violations to be shared in certain cases.
On behalf of BOS, Gustaf Hoffstedt Secretary General said: “BOS member companies welcome the enhanced opportunity for information sharing about legal violations that the memorandum proposes.
“A betting market free from manipulation is a prerequisite for our betting offers to continue to be in demand by consumers.
“No gambling consumer, except the gambling consumer with a criminal agenda, wants to place their bets on a market whose integrity cannot be trusted.”
BOS currently represents 18 gambling companies in the Swedish market, with Board members from 888 William Hill, Betsson, bet365 and Games Global.
Hoffstedt continues: “It is also of great importance that betting companies and sports associations can share individual data without legal uncertainty, when there is a legitimate degree of suspicion of a violation of the law and/or a violation of the rules of sports.
“Therefore, BOS, together with industry colleague SPER and the National Sports Confederation, have pursued this issue for a number of years, and it is positive that the government is now making the issue its own.
This is part of a drive to increase channelisation rates higher, meaning the amount of people gambling only through licensed, legal operators.
BOS found that in March 2023, the channelisation rates for competitive gaming was at 77%, and sports betting (excluding horseracing) was 84%.
One of the biggest markets for match-fixing is with esports, which is why the Spelinspektionen has recently banned two more skin-gambling sites from targeting players in the region.
