SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s Gambling Inspectorate, will host a meeting on 7 December to inform operators, technology suppliers and relevant stakeholders about the requirements of a new B2B software licensing scheme.
The regulatory reform, which was endorsed by the Ministry of Finance (Finansdepartementet), recommended that a new B2B licensing framework should be added as a new requirement of the Swedish Gambling Act.
Following a consultation period which ended in May, the Swedish government informed stakeholders that a new B2B licensing scheme would be launched on 1 July 2023 which would become a core requirement for all online gambling software suppliers and game developers.
Spelinspektionen commented on its update: “The purpose of the new legislation is to ensure a high level of channelling and thereby prevent illegal gambling.
“Those given a permit to handle gambling software will then be prohibited to manufacture, supply, install and/or adapt gambling software to gambling operators (B2C) operating without a necessary licence in Sweden.”
In September, the inspectorate explained to stakeholders that it expected to launch its B2B supplier licensing window in March 2023.
Under current proposals, the application fee for B2B licences would be SEK 120,000 (€11,000/£9,600). An increase in the renewal fee has also been proposed from SEK 300,000 to SEK 600,000 (€55,300/£48,100).
The meeting of B2B stakeholders will take place, despite the fact that the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament) is still to carry out a final vote on the stage-2 reforms for the country’s Gambling Act.
“The information meeting is based on the decision that the Riksdag is expected to make shortly about introducing the requirement for a licence for gaming software,” Spelinspektionen added.
Last month, Sweden’s new centre-right coalition government appointed Financial Markets Minister Niklas Wykman to oversee the final reforms of the Gambling Act.
As it stands, market incumbents are waiting to hear whether Wykman will propose a review to split state-owned operator Svenska Spel into two separate entities for ‘monopoly gaming’ (lottery and keno) and ‘competitive gaming’ (gambling units and sports betting).
This is a measure that has been endorsed as an election pledge of the Moderate Party, the coalition’s second biggest member.
The Moderate Party has also called for “constitutional safeguards be applied to Sweden’s Gambling Act”, which would require all future governments to secure the Riksdag’s approval to change gambling laws, policies and standards.
