 Sweden’s state-owned online gambling monopoly can be on the verge of its end, assuming legislators follow the recommendations of a new government-sponsored report.
A 1,340-page report we are talking about was prepared by government-commissioned panel headed by Lotteriinspektionen general director Hakan Hallstedt, who is leaving gaming to become a judge in May.
Mentioned he report calls for the end of the online gambling monopoly currently held by state-owned Svenska Spel. However, Svenska Spel would retain its monopoly on land-based casinos and slot machines, and the country’s lottery market would remain similarly off-limits for foreign operators.
Internationally licensed online operators would be allowed to apply for Swedish licenses, provided they’re willing to pay 18% tax on revenue derived from Swedish punters. Operators would need to obtain individual licenses for each online gambling business they wish to offer to Swedish people, while technology suppliers would have their own license category.
The report also calls for strong consumer protection measures, including a national self-exclusion registry and customer-set betting limits.
Lotteriinspektionen would be in charge of overseeing online operations and would be expected to achieve a 90% ‘channelization’ rate — aka ensuring that 90% of Sweden’s online market is controlled by locally licensed operators – within two years of the new regime taking effect.
The report believes the new regime should take effect in January 2019.
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Sweden’s state-owned online gambling monopoly can be on the verge of its end, assuming legislators follow the recommendations of a new government-sponsored report.
