Key points:
- The Swedish Government has proposed enhanced credit bans on gambling
- The current credit ban still allows for various types of credit gambling
- This move comes as part of a wider initiative to tighten regulations on betting in the nation
As part of an initiative to further enhance player protection, the Swedish Government is exploring the introduction of new legislation which would see a more comprehensive ban on credit gambling.
As specified by the Regeringskansliet (Swedish Government), there is already an active ban on credit usage in the current Gambling Act. Further specifications, however, detail that the ban is limited only to the point of sale and currently allows for the use of credit to enable gambling activities at any other point of payment interaction. Additionally, the current ban only applies to credit offered by gambling operators and agents.
Indeed, this newly proposed regulation is set to place a blanket ban on players entering into credit agreements with external parties when participating in gambling activities. Operators will also be barred from accepting bets from players that they know are financing gambling with credit – and both retail and online operators will be outlawed from accepting payments from credit cards.
Operators will also be expected to discourage players from the use of credit when gambling through advertising initiatives both in retail stores and online. Overall, this move seeks to help tackle player debt accredited to gambling spend in Sweden.
Good to know: This proposal also recommends that certain lottery entities in the nation may be exempt from the ban
This latest development follows a recent drive to enhance gambling safety via new regulations in Sweden that began in February with the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) urging the Ministry of Finance to amend the Gambling Act.
More recently, in April, the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) released a report which recommended that changes were needed to close legal loopholes within online gambling regulation in the nation.
