Only a day after the Social Security Minister’s temporary restrictions came into force, it is clear that the gaming companies have interpreted the new regulation in very different ways.

The chaos that the gaming industry warned of has now occurred, a consequence of a hasty and weakly substantiated proposal. We now appeal to the Gaming Inspectorate to clarify to the industry what applies regarding the deposit restrictions.

Recently, the state-controlled company ATG received criticism in Expressen for how they interpreted the new regulation. Most of the gaming companies’ lawyers with whom I spoke are of the opinion that the regulation is unworked and poorly written, which has led players to interpret the regulation differently. We were many who warned that measures, which were not based on facts and thorough impact assessments, could lead to an aggravated situation for both the licensed companies and their customers. More million fines may be distributed and more customers will certainly turn to the unlicensed market.

On July 2, major changes came into force in the Swedish gaming market, based on directives from responsible Minister Ardalan Shekarabi. The new regulation received strong and unanimous criticism from both private and state gaming companies in both referral rounds. The Gaming Inspection, which is set to ensure that the regulation is followed, also had several objections. Among other things, against the extremely short time given to the gaming companies to implement the extensive changes and the risk of reduced channeling.

The chaos that the gaming industry, like other experts, warned of has now occurred. It is technically difficult to distinguish the products on a platform that aims to meet the requirements for both a good gaming experience and a high level of consumer protection. For fear of more million fines, most companies have been forced to deal with the new restrictions by putting a limit on all products, even though sports and horses are not covered by the regulation. When companies implement widely different solutions, all of which seem to be within the law, ask a friend out of order, what really applies?

We are not envious of the Gaming Inspectorate, which did not itself support the changes, but unfortunately it is now their task to clarify very quickly with regard to the deposit restrictions. We in the industry strive for a continued sustainable gaming market and strong consumer protection, but it is difficult when hasty proposals that have the opposite effect now confuse an entire industry.

Our message has always been clear; restrictions and measures must be based on well-founded facts and elaborate impact assessments, otherwise the clock may turn back to what it looked like before the re-adjustment. We are now in a situation where neither the private nor the state-controlled companies know how to act and it is obvious that different actors interpret the new regulation in different ways. The question is who really wins this besides the companies that are outside the licensing system?

Against the background of the above, the gaming industry is looking forward to the Gambling Inspection’s clarification regarding the interpretation of the new deposit restriction.