Part 1: The new regulations
Part 1:
The new regulations
Here we consider the
new framework in
detail and what its
provisions will likely
entail for operators
and suppliers taking
dot.se licences
Grey not black
Grey markets somewhat defy exact
definition but they were – and still
are to some extent – viewed as
being largely European markets
where although online gambling in
certain forms wasn’t expressly legal,
the authorities (sometimes under
the threat of European Commission
We had a Wild West
situation develop
around bonus
systems in Sweden,
and the politicians
reacted to that
Gustaf Hoffstedt, Swedish
Trade Association for
Online Gambling
censure) did very little to clamp
down on operators targeting their
citizens from offshore jurisdictions.
Sweden was perhaps the
m odel grey market. From the off,
consumer enthusiasm for online
gambling was evident in Sweden
and some of the biggest names in
today’s operator universe emanate
from the country, including
Kindred Group and Betsson.
That fed through to the supply
side and again companies with
Swedish origins such as NetEnt
and Evolution have thrived on the
global stage.
While not exactly turning a blind
eye, the authorities certainly did
little to disabuse players of the
notion that it was OK to bet with
these operators, while Svenska
Spel even went so far as to join the
poker revolution.
The move towards a
regulated space
The long march towards a
regulated market in Sweden
has taken many years and was
characterised by frustration on the
part of the operators and a degree
of bureaucratic obstruction (likely
only partially deliberate) from both
politicians and the authorities.
Slowly, the shape of the coming
regulated market began to form
Sweden: The transition to regulation in one of Europe’s most advanced digital markets
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