Since 2019, a new gaming law with a licensing system has been in effect in Sweden, which, among other things, makes it possible for commercial companies to offer online gaming to the Swedish market. A fundamental aspect of the new law was that gaming would be subject to public control.
Now, the Audit Office's review shows that the Gaming Inspectorate, which was given responsibility for supervision, has significant deficiencies in its control of gaming companies.
The biggest problem is that the authority conducts too few inspections, and they are not based on a risk analysis. When deficiencies are discovered, no follow-up is done to ensure they are corrected.
"Intensive years"
"It is particularly important to supervise gaming forms associated with high risks. This includes commercial online gaming and betting, which should be controlled much more. It is also important to shut out illegal gaming," says Audit Office Director Claudia Gardberg Morner in a press release.
The Gaming Inspectorate's Director-General Camilla Rosenberg shares the Audit Office's view and points out that the period since 2019 has been tumultuous.
"We can look back on six very intensive years with new framework legislation, new actors, and new tasks in a completely new regulation. Several issues are still awaiting court practice," says Rosenberg in a press release.
Minister: Takes time
The Audit Office has also reviewed the government's role and believes, among other things, that the government has not provided sufficient resources to the authority when other activities have pushed aside supervision.
"Since we took office, we have taken several measures to strengthen the Gaming Inspectorate's supervisory activities. For example, the authority's appropriation has increased significantly for this purpose, and in the latest budget proposal, we propose that it should continue to increase step by step until 2026," says Financial Markets Minister Niklas Wykman (The Moderate Party) in a written comment to TT.
"It should also be mentioned that the review concerns the period 2019-2023. It may take time before our measures, such as new supervisory tools for the authority, yield full results," continues Wykman.
The Swedish gaming market turned over approximately 27 billion kronor last year. At the same time, it is estimated that 350,000 Swedes have gaming problems, which costs society 11.5 billion kronor, according to the Public Health Agency in 2021.
According to the police, gaming for money is also associated with risks of money laundering and match-fixing, often with links to organized crime.
The state's revenue from gaming amounts to around 6 billion kronor per year, while non-profit organizations receive around 1.5 billion.
In 2019, the Swedish gaming market was re-regulated, making it possible for commercial companies to conduct legal gaming activities in Sweden. The reason was that unregulated gaming companies abroad accounted for an increasingly large share of Swedish gaming - a third of the market in 2018.
Source: The Audit Office
