Sweden expands regulated iGaming market

Swedish watchdog Spelinspektionen has issued a series of new online gaming and betting licences, taking the total number up to 65 in the newly-regulated market. Five companies have been added to the list of licensees in the country, which launched its regulated igaming market on January 1. Dreambox Games has secured a licence to offer online gambling services via its Chanz.com in Sweden, while Ellmount Gaming has also been awarded a licence to operate its Casinoroom.com website. Elsewhere, Legolas Invest and Pixel Digital have secured licences for online gambling and betting in the country. Legolas will launch its Legolas.bet and mobile.legolas.bet domains, while Pixel will roll out its Pixel.bet site. Spelinspektionen has also issued a betting licence to More Tech Group, which will offer services via its Superlottoclub.com website. The companies join the likes of GVC Holdings, Stars Group, LeoVegas, Unibet, Bet365 and Betsson Group among the brands to have secured licences to operate in Sweden. All licence-holders will be subject to certain rules and regulations as part of the new regime in the country, including a requirement to integrate with a self-exclusion scheme that has also launched. The Spelpaus.se initiative allows consumers to block themselves from gambling online and all operators that hold a licence must ensure these individuals cannot access their services. Last week, Spelinspektionen said that licensed operators that do not abide by these rules risk losing their licence or a financial penalty. The regulator had previously noted a series of failings by certain companies since January 1. Image: Florian Prischl