Spelinspektionen backs expansion of Swedish marketing penalty fees

The regulator issued a consultation response today (18 June), after the country’s government submitted a series of potential reforms in a report, titled “Modernized Consumer Protection”, intended to strengthen consumer protection.

This report included a suggestion that marketing disruption fees – a form of penalty for certain violations of the Marketing Act (MFL) – be expanded to cover more violations.

Currently, the penalty applies only for infringing section 7 of the MFL, which deals specifically with “coercive” marketing.

However, the report said it should be extended to violations of sections 5 and 6, which would include fees for infractions of good marketing practices” if the marketing violation “appreciably affects or probably affects the recipient’s ability to make a well-founded transaction decision”.

This change was something the regulator said it supporter.

“The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate is positive about the inquiry’s proposal that the opportunity to decide on issuing a market disruption fee, according to section 29 of the MFL, shall be extended include violations of Sections 5 and 6 of the MFL,” read the response.

The inquiry into consumer protection suggested that the maximum fine should be 4% of an operator’s annual turnover. Spelinspektionen said it supported this was well.