Court sides with Lotteriinspektionen, rejects appeals by media companies promoting gambling services by unauthorized operators
The Administrative Court in Linköping has rejected a large amount of appeals against an injunction by the Swedish gambling regulator, Lotteriinspektionen, the latter announced on Tuesday. The case stemmed from the regulatory body’s move earlier this year to issue warnings to multiple local media outlets to stop advertising international gambling operators as their actions breached the nation’s Lottery Act.
The Linköping Administrative Court has ruled that Lotteriinspektionen’s injunctions did not violate the Swedish Constitution and EU laws as the appeals had claimed.
In May, the gambling regulator issued warnings to 39 online media outlets to cease promoting gambling services provided by internationally licensed companies. More specifically, Lotteriinspektionen warned against clickable graphics that were featured on the media websites and referred to foreign gambling websites.
The regulatory body informed owners of the media outlets that by promoting gaming and betting services provided from outside the country without the necessary authorization, they breached Section 38 of the Swedish Lottery Act of 1994. Under the country’s current gambling law, all forms of advertising of gambling services provided by unauthorized companies is prohibited.
Under other provisions of the Lottery Act, Lotteriinspektionen is allowed to issue warnings and penalize those who violate the law.
The 39 media outlets that were warned by the gambling regulator decided to appeal the warnings, claiming that Lotteriinspektionen’s actions breached EU laws for the free movement of services within the union. As mentioned above, the Linköping Administrative Court has sided with Lotteriinspektionen, ruling that the regulator’s actions were constitutional and in accordance with EU rules.
Lotteriinspektionen’s Tightened Grip on Gambling Advertising
While the gambling regulator might have always been clear about its stance on unlicensed gambling and the promotion of unlicensed services, it really tightened its grip on gambling advertising last year. Lotteriinspektionen issued in late 2017 a warning to free daily newspaper Metro, scolding the outlet for continuously advertising gaming and betting products by foreign companies. Metro was told to cease and desist or otherwise face punishment from the regulatory body.
Last month, the Administrative Court backed a request by Lotteriinspektionen to fine news outlet Nyheter24 for featuring links to international gambling sites. The case dated back to 2014 when Nyheter24 was first warned to remove all gambling ads that referred to foreign websites. The news outlet was fined SEK100,000 by Lotteriinspektionen for its failure to act as advised by the Swedish regulatory body.
Gambling companies are among the Scandinavian country’s biggest advertisers. According to a report by research firm Kantar Sifo, state-run gambling operator Svenska Spel and internationally licensed Kindred and LeoVegas were among the top 20 advertisers across Swedish media in 2017.
Sweden’s new gambling law is set to come into effect on January 1, 2019. Under the new rules, international companies will be able to obtain licenses from Lotteriinspektionen and to operate in the country’s regulated market. The law also contains provisions that absolutely prohibit the promotion of unlicensed services and violators are expected to be punished with hefty fines and legal action.
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