Sweden Considering Live sport Ban
Swedish authorities have said that they will “not exclude” the possibility of introducing a ban on gambling adverts during live sports.
Sweden has followed Denmark in considering a UK style ban on gambling ads. © Pexels.
Minister of Civil Affairs, Ardalan Shekarabi, spoke to media outlet Aftonbladet, and said that regulators are considering introducing some sort of restrictions or ban on gambling adverts.
Mr Shekarabi said that Sweden is looking at following the lead of both the UK and Denmark. Last week, the head of Denmark’s lottery, Niels Folmann, called for a blanket whistle-to-whistle ban on gambling ads during live sport, in the same manner as the UK.
The UK’s ban is due to be implemented in August, for the start of the 2019/20 Premier League season. The ban was announced in December last year, with operators voluntarily agreeing not to advertise during live sporting events.
Sweden’s proposal would be something similar. While there hasn’t been such outrage towards gambling ads as in the UK, recent surveys have shown that the ads are viewed as not credible and that consumers are dissatisfied with operators.
Speaking to Aftonbladet, Mr Shekarabi said that Swedish people are growing:
tired of the extremely aggressive marketing, the unrestrained advertising. [Licencees] have a huge responsibility and must ensure that they live up to the requirements and intentions [of Sweden’s regulations].–Ardalan Shekarabi, Swedish Minister of Civil Affairs
Sweden’s newly regulated market continues to flourish. This week, three new operators were awarded licences. Bell Casino, FT Diva Casino, and Premiergaming, were all given licences by Spelinpektionen. Those additions have brought the number of licensed operators to 69.
However, there has been some non-compliance relating to the nation self-exclusion register, Spelpaus.se. A number of operators were named in the media after sending promotional materials to individuals who had self-excluded themselves from all gambling websites. That led to regulator Spelinspektionen issuing written warnings over compliance deficiencies and threatening tough action.
