Sweden’s regulated online gambling market is losing ground to internationally licensed rivals due to its increasingly restrictive rules, according to a local industry group.

On Sunday, the Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) online gambling industry group published an op-ed slamming the Swedish government’s proposal for strict limits on online gambling deposits and losses, while limiting bonus offers to SEK100 (US$10) and requiring gamblers to set mandatory time limits for online casino play.

BOS secretary-general Gusaf Hoffstedt noted that online gambling operators holding licenses issued by Sweden’s Spelinspektionen regulatory body were already subject to strict marketing rules, a ban on VIP bonuses, limiting bonuses to first-time customers and ensuring customers haven’t registered with the national Spelpaus self-exclusion program.

Hoffstedt added that since internationally licensed gambling sites aren’t subject to Sweden’s rules or its tax regime, they can offer “very competitive prices” and attractive bonuses. As such, Hoffstedt believes the government’s newly proposed limits will be “largely ineffective” in achieving their aims of protecting Swedish consumers.