Analysis: Sweden commences reregulation journey
As Swedish regulators process a raft of new applications for licences, EGR Compliance speaks to some of the early movers for their thoughts on the process
A new gambling law will come into effect in Sweden on 1 January 2019 that will give Sweden a new, re-regulated gambling market.
When launching the application process in July, the Swedish gaming authority, the Lotteriinspektionen called for expediency, stating that the “sooner a complete application is submitted, the quicker it can be decided.” In line with this immediate need, 22 operators submitted applications on or around the 1 August, the commencement date of the licensing window.
Speaking exclusively to EGR Compliance, Global Gaming CEO Joacim Möller said that applying early was “a no-brainer” for Global Gaming, adding that “Sweden is one of our biggest markets and we want to be operating as soon as the regulated market opens for business.”
The sentiment was echoed by Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred Group said that it “was very satisfying that we finally can take this important step towards fair and equal terms within the Swedish market, competing on the same level as other operators.”
With such a small timeline between parliamentary approval for re-regulation and the proposed roll out, the potential for the application process to become a quagmire of form-filling was high, especially given the fact the forms themselves were only rolled out a month after.
Reflecting on the process, Tsachi Maimon, CEO of Aspire Global said the “documentation we were required to provide was enormous”, while Möller called the forms “wide-ranging and very detailed, and different to our previous licence application in other countries, but that is to be expected with such an important and emerging market.”
Despite the complexity of forms required to obtain a Swedish egaming license, most operators are generally optimistic.
Pontus Lindwall, CEO of Betsson, said the company had been waiting for a proper regulatory regime for a “long time”. Lindwall added: “Sweden is a very mature market within internet gaming. For the industry it means yet another market opens up for licensing, which is a positive thing.”
Möller believes that a fully regulated Swedish market should “lead to strong competition across all operators, which can only mean good things. Introducing regulation will help bring Sweden in line with other EU states, and I think it is a really good government decision. The coming months will be very interesting in Sweden.”
At a consumer protection level, Tsachi Maimon believes “players could have more confidence in the ability to play responsibly, and gambling under a licensed operator which received approval from the Swedish regulator will aid in doing just so.”
In addition to this reregulation, the role of the existing monopoly holders, Svenska Spel and AB Trav and Galopp (ATG) who have themselves had to reapply for egaming licenses, will change considerably with the advent of reregulation.
Despite the loss of their monopoly, both operators remain optimistic, with Hasse Skarplöth, CEO of ATG saying “The commercial license market gives us the opportunity to further develop our business and support the Swedish horse industry.”
Upon the submission of their own application, Fredrik Wastenson, CEO of sport & casino at Svenska Spel said: “It feels very inspiring and we look forward to taking sport & casino to a leading position in the tough competition.”
Sweden’s newly regulated market will commence operations on 1 January 2019, but with five months until that point Swedish regulators face an uphill task to approve applications for licenses in time. However, if the attitudes of operators looking to be licensed in the Swedish market are anything to go by, the future is bright.