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The Swedish government has announced a new deposit limit for online gambling. The Swedish Trade Association is unhappy with this ruling. They are criticizing the move and requesting the government reconsider its limit decision.
Swedish Trade Association Criticizes Proposed Deposit Limit Changes
The Swedish Trade Association For Online Gambling is highly critical of a recent announcement by the Swedish government. Sweden’s Minister For Social Security, Ardalan Shekarabi, has made remarks about a lower deposit limit in the works. According to Shekarabi, the proposed limit would likely take effect on February 7, 2022. It would remain in place until June 30, 2022.
The Swedish government has proposed a temporary reduction in weekly online gambling deposit limits from SEK 5,000 to SEK 4,000.
The proposal would see a SEK 1,000 reduction in the current limit. Right now, Swedish players can make weekly deposits of up to SEK 5,000. The new reduced limit would be SEK 4,000 per week. This has upset quite a few people. The Swedish Trade Association For Online Gambling, or BOS, has publicly come out against this proposal.
The BOS has outlined a number of reasons as to why this reduction is not a good idea. For example, BOS Secretary-General Gustaff Hoffstedt noted that this could make tracking player behavior more difficult. He said that a weekly deposit reduction would likely result in players spreading multiple accounts across operators.
This would make it more challenging to track potential problem gambling red flags. Additionally, Hoffstedt argues that it could lead to companies being able to take advantage of at-risk players more easily.
Ardalan Shekarabi Under Fire Once Again by the Swedish Trade Association
When arguing his case, Hoffstedt made the following remarks:
“As the system is designed, it leads to players — who want to play for more money than the proposed limit — setting up new gaming accounts with new gaming companies. Before the deposit limits, you played with one or two gaming companies, but after the introduction of the limits, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of gaming companies per individual player.”
He concluded by saying:
“Thus, the statutory duty of care, which aims for the gaming company to acquire an overall picture of gaming behavior and offer support to at-risk players, is lost.”
While Hoffstedt’s remarks may be valid, this is not the first time that the BOS has been openly critical of Ardalan Shekarabi. The BOS has taken exception to many of Shekarabi’s past remarks.
For example, Shekarabi made a statement in June 2021 claiming a significant uptick in online gambling during the pandemic. This claim was used as justification to impose temporary restrictions for online gambling last summer.
The BOS wasted no time in hammering Shekarabi for his remarks. They called the claims “completely unfounded” and unabashedly pushed back against the country’s restrictions.
In this case, the BOS is once again unafraid to take on the Swedish government to voice its criticisms of this upcoming deposit restriction.
Secretary-General Hoffstedt concluded his comments with this statement:
“When gambling becomes as fragmented as it becomes with deposit limits, no individual gaming company can capture risky gaming behavior, and thus a cornerstone of Swedish consumer protection in the gaming law is lost.”
The BOS stands firm in its opinion that Sweden should impose fewer restrictions on its citizens. Their opinion is that more regulations make it less safe for Swedish players because the government cannot monitor at-risk behavior as well.
Shekarabi’s Historically Shaky Stance on Swedish Online Gambling Numbers
This recent disagreement between Sweden’s Minister of Social Security and the BOS is even more inflamed based on past events.
In April 2020, Shekarabi held a press conference that outlined stricter online gambling regulations. The government claimed these regulations were intended to protect players. Part of the new restrictions included a deposit limit of SEK 5,000 across all online gambling platforms.
During this press conference, Shekarabi made sweeping remarks about gambling statistics and increased gambling addiction. However, a Swedish parliamentary committee, Konstitutionsutskottet or KU, reviewed these claims.
The KU found that Shekarabi’s information was not entirely credible. The KU’s report showed that Shekarabi’s information came from “misleading” sources. Additionally, they cited data from Swedish regulatory body Spelinspektionen. This data showed that betting and online gambling numbers had decreased roughly 6 percent at that time.
These new measures will restrict online gambling even further. In light of these previous remarks, it is easy to see why the BOS is so vocal in its opposition.