Spelinspektionen Approves Ban on Credit Cards in Gambling

The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has published an official response to FI2024/00442, a government measure that would ban gambling on credit. The credit card ban has been discussed for several months now and is a measure that has the regulator’s backing.

According to director general Camilla Rosenberg, the Spelinspektionen believes that the ban on gambling on credit should extend to all forms of gambling. The authority suggested that it should also be able to grant exceptions in specific cases.

In its official statement, the Spelinspektionen confirmed that it backs the proposal. The Swedish trade association BOS previously slammed the measure and suggested that it would devastate the legal market. On that note, the regulator admitted that there is no official proof of how the measure would affect operators that sell tickets digitally.

An additional concern was certain ambiguity that made it unclear how the ban would affect players paying wagers with account credits. Since credits linked to a bank account are also account credits, the Spelinspektionen noted that this could mean that licensees must ensure that credit limits are not used for payments with debit cards.

Since the original proposal does not obligate licensees to investigate such matters, however, the Spelinspektionen concluded that it does not interpret the wording as requiring gambling companies to check whether users’ debit cards have a credit limit.

Banning gambling with credit cards would align Sweden with other modern regulated markets, such as Australia, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom. 

The Spelinspektionen concluded that the proposal outlined in the memorandum is consistent with the regulator’s proposal.

The Regulator Continues to Watch over the Market
In other news, the Spelinspektionen just banned another skins gambling website. WiseAvant OÜ, the company in question, provided games of chance to Swedish customers without possessing the necessary license.

This came a few months after the authority cracked down on three gambling companies, namely Galaktika NV, Newera Frozen PTE Limited and Aprodi Ltd, two of which also offered skins gambling.

In other news, ATG’s chief executive officer, Hans Lord Skarplöth, recently suggested that the government might be willing to amend its GGR tax hike proposal. The tax hike has been a controversial measure, which, according to BOS, would be a gift to the black market, if implemented.