Swedish Gambling Authority Seeks Clarity on Credit Gambling Ban
The Swedish regulator, Spelinspektionen, has given its support to a proposed comprehensive ban on gambling with credit but has also called for more clarity regarding the new rules and regulations.
Spelinspektionen calls for more clarity regarding proposed credit gambling ban.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The Swedish Gambling Act already prohibits licensed operators from offering or providing credit. However, the Ministry of Finance’s plans outlined in February propose a more extensive ban.
Under the proposals, state operators and gambling agents will be forbidden from processing deposits or bets that were financed by credit, regardless of the source of credit. The proposals also give licensees a duty of care to help prevent excessive gambling. The proposals suggest authorizing Spelinspektionen to set requirements for these action plans.
Spelinspektionen's Concerns
In its official response, Spelinspektionen expressed general approval of the ban, which is unsurprising given the regulator’s call for a complete prohibition on gambling with credit cards in November last year. However, the regulator highlighted several concerns that it wants addressed for clarity.
One issue is the memorandum’s claim that certain entities, such as non-profit associations running bingo games or lotteries, do not accept credit card payments and, therefore, would not be affected by the ban. Spelinspektionen pointed out that public lotteries also sell tickets online and measures should be in place to prevent these tickets from being bought using credit cards or third-party credit.
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Regulator Worried About Ambiguity
Spelinspektionen also highlighted ambiguity in the proposed rules, particularly concerning the definition of “credit”. The current proposals include a ban on using account credits for gambling. Spelinspektionen explained that credit linked to a bank account falls under this category.
This could mean that license holders and gambling agents must ensure that casino payment methods such as debit cards are not used for credit-based payments. However, the proposals do not specify investigative responsibilities for licensees or agents. This omission might lead to inadequate enforcement of the rule, as it does not require payees to verify whether a debit card transaction involves a credit limit.
Moreover, Spelinspektionen mentioned that the proposals lack details on whether licensees and agents should deploy technical solutions or establish agreements with payment service providers to prevent transactions through credit facilities linked to debit cards.
Spelinspektionen instead interprets the proposal as meaning license holders and agents may not allow such a payment if it is possible for the payee to discover without special investigative measures that the payment is made with credit. That is if the payee knows for some other reason that the gambling bet is financed with such credit. The scope of the proposed credit ban regarding debit cards could, for the reasons stated, be specified more clearly.
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