Sweden’s gambling operators have weighed in on the government’s proposal to severely limit online casino deposits, losses and bonuses for the rest of the year to minimize pandemic-related excess.

Last month, Social Security Minister Ardalan Shekarabi unveiled a plan to impose a weekly gambling deposit limit of SEK5k (US$500), along with loss limits for online casino play and a cap on bonus offers of just SEK100. Stakeholders were invited to submit any comments by this Thursday.

With that window now closed, some operators have begun sharing their views with the public. Patrik Hofbauer, CEO of state-run operator Svenska Spel, who claimed not to have seen “any direct increase in risk gambling since COVID-19 hit the world,” said his group “do not see that further regulations are justified at present.”

However, Hofbauer offered an alternative three-step plan to achieve Shekarabi’s aims of protecting Swedish gamblers from potential harm. If online casinos are the problem, apply the new limits only to online casino products and leave other verticals alone. Hofbauer urged Shekarabi to follow the lead of gambling addiction researchers, who view loss limits as more effective than deposit limits.