Tobias Fagerlund, CEO of Global Gaming, believes the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) needs to urgently address channelisation rates in the Swedish market.
Speaking with Gambling Insider at ICE London 2020, Fagerlund explained why he believes SGA attempts to increase channelisation rates are currently failing.
He said: "It is vital for the SGA and the Swedish authorities to get channelisation to work, as now it simply doesn’t.
"It is too easy for the consumer to play the same games as they do with the licensed operators, using the same payment methods as they use with licensed operators, but with an unlicensed offering."
Fagerlund argued this not only has a negative impact for licensed operators, but also for attempts to improve responsible gambling through Sweden’s national self-exclusion scheme, Spelpaus.
He said: "The players who have signed up for Spelpaus are two clicks away from getting the same offer, but also including bonuses, kick-backs and VIP treatments on unlicensed sites. It’s a huge problem for the Swedish legislation."
Explaining one potential solution to the problem, Fagerlund proposed licenses for gaming suppliers should receive greater scrutiny.
He said: "They need to look at licenses and certificates for game providers and actually say to them that if they provide games to Swedish licensed operators, then you cannot also provide them to unlicensed operators – that will cost you something.
"It’s important the authorities take a humble approach to the first year of re-regulation and are prepared to make changes on these things."
