Spelinspektionen launches awareness raising campaign

The Swedish Gaming Authority (Spelinspektionen) has launched a nationwide campaign intended to increase awareness of the regulations on gambling in the country.

The campaign will last two weeks, starting in late December and ending in early January, with ads to feature outdoors, on locations such as billboards, in print media and on digital channels.

The budget for the campaign is SEK2.5m (£199,700/€238,900/$265,900), which Spelinspektionen described as, “relatively little compared to the gaming companies' advertising investment”.

Anders Sims, communications manager for Spelinpektionen, said it was important to let the public know what the authority does and why.

“By telling us that Spelinpektionen is there, what we do and above all why, we hope to make the market safer for everyone who plays,” Sims explained.

Spelinspektionen has already taken action against a number of operators for a range of offences this year. In June, it even revoked Global Gaming's operating licence over “serious deficiencies” in its business practices, including failings related to responsible gambling and anti-money laundering measures.

Earlier this week (10 December) Spelinspektionen revealed that despite issuing sanctions to licensees on 21 occasions in 2019, Åland Islands-based Paf is the only operator to have paid the penalty.

Spelinspektionen's crackdowns against the industry have prompted operator association Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) to accuse the regulator of a lack of clarity around gambling regulations in July.

Spelinspektionen, however, has argued that operators are simply “unaccustomed” to its enforcement approach.

Sims said one reason for the campaign was to encourage possible customers to play with licensed gambling operators rather than their unlicensed counterparts. In September, BOS secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt and Robin Olenius, communication manager for Betsson Group Sweden said they felt the issue of channelisation had been insufficiently addressed by Spelinspektionen at a meeting between operators and the regulator.

“The licence is a security stamp,” Sims said. “It is Spelinpektionen that issues the licences and is responsible for calling the companies that are licensed to ensure that they live up to the Swedish regulations. We want those who play to know what applies, so that they can choose companies with a Swedish license.”