Two Swedish gambling organizations are clashing publicly over proposed restrictions on the gambling market.
The Swedish Online Gambling Trade Association (BOS) and government-owned gambling company Svenska Spel are openly clashing over proposed plans to impose restrictions on Sweden’s gambling market. The two organizations published editorials in the country’s largest business newspapers explaining their views.
Different opinions about restrictions
On the one hand, Svenska Spel supports a proposal that would classify games according to risk. High-stakes games will therefore be subject to special restrictions on a number of topics, including marketing.
“Our proposals show that there is an opportunity to change course in order to protect the regulated market and protect the consumer if the gaming industry, relevant authorities and regulators work together,” wrote Anna Johnson, President and CEO of Svenska Spel. Her signed article. “For more than a hundred years, Svenska Spel has had the responsibility to ensure that games are both safe and entertaining. We want to contribute to the development of the gaming market in the right direction: where consumers are at the center and where we can protect the fun and safety of games.”
On the other hand, the BOS says that such a restriction would affect online casinos more than any other gambling sector, an area that already competes heavily with unlicensed and often illegal gambling companies. In fact, the Swedish Gambling Authority closed down Three of these operators are unlicensed Earlier this year.
“The proposal that Svenska Spel is wearing in the name of consumer protection would, on the contrary, harm consumer protection, because we know that moving from licensed to unlicensed gambling entails an increased risk of problem gambling.” BOS Secretary General Gustav Hofstedt wrote.
Hofstedt went on to say that such a restriction would benefit Svenska Spel commercially, as the company currently sells lottery tickets and casino games online.
“Banning online casino advertising would mean a huge advantage for monopoly Svenska Spel, which could then, as the only operator in the Swedish gambling market, indirectly continue to advertise online casinos through its lottery products,” Hofstedt said.
Featured Image: Wikimedia Commonslicensed under CCP-SA 2.0
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