Part 1: The new regulations
Monopoly hangover
But there are issues hanging over
from the protracted legislative
process and one of them is the
position of Svenska Spel. “We
are however concerned about a
number of details, among them
the future ownership and lack of
complete separation between the
monopoly and the licence entity of
Svenska Spel,” says Hoffstedt.
Much of the debate in the
final stages of the move towards
regulation in Sweden revolved
around what advantages Svenska
Spel would have in the new market
(whether by default or by design).
The end state, as it stands, is
clearly not the optimum outcome
for the likes of Betsson, as Pia
Rosin, vice-president of corporate
communications makes clear.
“We would of course like to see
a proper split of Svenska Spel,”
she says. “It would of course be
madness if Svenska Spel was
allowed to cross-sell open market
products to customers that they
have recruited through their
monopoly business. I would have
liked the government to be much
stronger here.
“Long term, the open market
businesses of Svenska Spel should
be sold. It doesn’t make sense that
the government, that essentially
make the rules, is one of the
competitors. It’s never a good idea
when the referee belongs to one of
the competing teams.”
Responsible gaming
The other great issue of contention
surrounds what the regulations
have to say about bonusing.
Written into the regulations as it
You will have to declare
incomes from playing
with unlicensed
operators and I’m not
sure these customers
will all diligently
declare this
Ola Wiklund, Wiklun d Law
stands are rules that suggest that
bonuses or free bets can only be
offered to first-time customers.
This will have far-reaching effects
for both operators and affiliates.
Hoffstedt told the audience at the
iGaming Business Nordic Affiliate
Conference (NAC) earlier this year
that the industry had brought this
upon itself due to the nature of its
marketing activities in the existing
grey market.
“We had a Wild West regarding
bonus systems in Sweden, and the
politicians reacted on that,” he said.
“The problem is that when they try
to regulate, the result is often harsh
and stupid at the same time. So
now we seem to receive a bonus
regulation that actually promotes
chasing new customers all the time,
whereas loyal, stable relations will
be prohibited.
“Any sort of VIP programme
will be prohibited. If the affiliate
industry doesn’t take that
responsibility now, then the
politicians will only be too tempted
to regulate and to regulate hard
and to regulate (badly).”
Claus Jansson, the Danish
country manager for Better
Collective, speaking at the same
event was equally critical of the
first-time player only bonus rule.
“If you enforce that, you will
have players opening multiple
accounts, which is exactly what
the government doesn’t want,” he
pointed out. “I’m not a believer in
regulation like that. The Swedish
government are famous for
new rules that sometimes don’t
make sense.”
Richardt Funch, head of platform
sales for EveryMatrix, takes a
slightly more optimistic view and
predicts the new rules will foster
some degree of innovation in
marketing.
“At the end of the day these
restrictions will apply to all licensed
operators and then it depends on
how they execute their marketing
and bonus activities,” he says. “So
you could expect to see some more
creative campaigns coming up.”
However, one particularly
Sweden: The transition to regulation in one of Europe’s most advanced digital markets
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