The gambling rules and regulations in Sweden may change pretty soon. The Court of the European Union will discuss the amenities that need to be imposed. The reason for that was the standpoint of the European Commission.
According to the authorities, the Swedish laws are intended to protect the Svenska Spel monopoly rather than ensuring the safe gaming environment for the players.
Yesterday, a member of the European Commission announced that Sweden will have to give a sensible explanation for the current situation and define the reason why the laws are so beneficial to Svenska Spel. The Court of Justice for the European Union will have the final say.
According to the European laws, the country’s authorities can restrict the access of their residents to gambling activities if they consider them to pose a risk for the well being of the citizens. However, the bone of contention in Sweden is the restriction imposed with the aim of protecting the interests of Svenska Spel.
Currently, Svenska Spel is the only gambling provider in Sweden. However, a significant increase in the amount of money, set aside for marketing purposes, was noticed, which put forward the idea that the top priority is not keeping the gambling industry in a good condition but contributing to the government coffers.
The decision of the European Commission to refer the country to the European Union’s Court of Justice was made on October 16th 2014. It came as a result of the fact that the online gambling legislation of Sweden did not comply with the European Union law. The latest measures taken by the European Commission have been provoked by the unsatisfactory reaction of the country to the compliance request of the Commission, which was filed in November 2013.
The European Commission raised suspicion about the gambling matters in Sweden seven years ago but actions were taken at the end of 2013 when the Commission authorities warned the Swedish government that the gambling laws are not compatible with the European standards.
A few months later, Lotterinspektionen, the Sweden’s regulator, announced that various options for liberalizing the local gambling market will be taken into consideration. However, the procedure was brought to a standstill, which made the EC authorities discontent. As a response, the Swedish regulator announced that the procedure will be accelerated and the refined laws will be implemented as soon as possible.
Still, according to some records, the reform in Sweden is likely to be accelerated due to the latest actions of the European Commission. Similar course of action were said to may be undertaken with other Member States.
