Operators that have been licensed by the Swedish gaming regulator have been asked to improve their marketing practices preferably by reducing their aggressive marketing tactics. Failure to do will result in the introduction of even stricter regulation which will be accompanied by related legislation that is set to be introduced by the country’s government.
According to Ardalan Skekarabi, the Swedish Minister for Civil Affairs, licensed gaming operators in the country will have until March 31 to effect noticeable changes in the way they market and advertise their gaming products. The minister issued this statement during a meeting that was attended by all of the licensed gaming operators currently operating in the country where he also hinted at the possibility of a ban on advertising ban.
Public Outcry
The country has been considering the introduction of a whistle-to-whistle advertising ban which is also being floated around in a few other countries including neighboring Denmark following the recently agreed gaming advert ban in the United Kingdom – this is set to go live in August during the start of the 2019/20 Premier League season. According to the findings of several studies, these gaming promotions are considered to not credible as customers are reportedly dissatisfied with them. The minister has in the past pointed out that gamers in the United Kingdom have grown tired of the aggressive and unrestrained marketing that many of the gaming operators have been employing.
“Either they are the ones who take responsibility and create a sustainable situation in the industry, or the state will take its responsibility and go with mandatory legislation,” he said.
Since the Swedish online gaming market went live at the beginning of the year, the government and Spelinspektionen, the local gaming regulator, have been working actively towards ensuring that is safe and fair for everyone. The gaming market continues to flourish despite having been live for a very short while – it also continues to grow with more operators being awarded licenses. The most recent entrants into the gaming market are FT Diva Casino, Bell Casino, and Premiergaming which recently received licenses from the gaming regulators thus bringing the total number of gaming operators in the region to 69.
Other than the advertising concerns, there have also been issued with regards to self-exclusion schemes. Recently, several operators came under fire for sending advertising material to people who had self-excluded themselves from gaming sites. The gaming regulator responded to this by sending out written warnings to all of the operators that were mentioned in the report.
