Sweden’s current regulatory situation for gambling doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. New restrictions imposed by the government have caused confusion with not only operators, but the regulator as well. The Swedish panel at the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital tried to make sense of it.

In June, Sweden settled on new deposit limits for online opertors, retricting players to SEK5k (US$537) weekly. But with a vague definition of exactly what was limited, operators implemented the restriction in varying ways, and even regulator Spelinspektionen was unsure of how to enforce the limits. Moderator Jesper Kärrbrink, Creative Director of Green Jade Games, asked why the regulation even exists.

“It’s pure politics,” responded Fintan Costello, Managing Director, Bonusfiner.com. As anyone residing in Sweden could tell you, it’s very easy to create multiple accounts with different operators to get around the restriction, and there’s also always the choice of using an internationally licensed operator that has no restriction at all. The rule simply doesn’t protect anyone it claims to protect.

Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary General for the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, had his own idea for why the government put forward the policy.  “I believe that they believe they have reasons to safeguard a number of land-based gambling operators,” he said. “One shall remember that they still own Svenska Spel.”