Swedish Government Ends Temporary Gambling Restrictions By This Coming Mid-November

The Swedish Government has confirmed that the temporary gambling restrictions that have caused outrage will end on November 14, 2021.

In fact, on September 29, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) already asked the Government to lift temporary restrictions on online casinos. The handwritten letter was sent after the Government held a press conference on September 7 to announce that all general limits related to the pandemic would be lifted from September 29. However, the Swedish Government has delayed the request and only allows to completely lift the gambling regulations by this coming November. 

According to the BOS, there is no evidence or support that online casino-related gambling problems will increase during a global pandemic. In addition, studies show that the number of Swedish gamers increased during the early stages of the outbreak, but the actual size of the average wages decreased.

With the Government's ambition to return Sweden to normalcy, the BOS asked them to end the temporary restrictions on gambling regulation together with the end of the general pandemic restrictions; thus, both will end on September 29.

What are The Restrictions about? 

Accordingly, due to the pandemic, the Nordic country's Ministry of Finance had announced that a decree on temporary liability measures would expire after it came into effect on July 2, 2020.

The rules, which are aimed at risky forms of gambling, include provisions such as deposit limits up to a maximum of 5,000 SEK ($585.3), with corresponding loss limits, which apply to games at ATMs. Besides, limit the related loss on the slot machines and set a limit of 100 SEK on the bonus. At the same time, gamblers are required to restrict gambling by setting time limits.

Along with the restrictions, the Swedish Government has also instructed Spelinspektionen - the national gambling regulator, to evaluate interim gaming responsibility measures to monitor and analyze how forms of entertainment and access to gambling evolve in the short and long term. The mission must be completed by October 31, 2023.

Furthermore, this also includes proposing measures to strengthen the protection of gamblers in the gaming market to combat public health problems.

Social Security Minister - Ardalan Shekarabi said that revenue in the gaming market has increased and could lead to a change in behavior in the long run with expanded gambling. Therefore, closer monitoring is needed to see if further measures are required.