Sweden Abandons Plan for Deposit Caps

Sweden’s government has abandoned its plan to introduce new restrictions on online casino products, including a controversial SEK4,000 slots deposit cap.

Earlier in January, the Swedish government announced that it would be reintroducing a number of temporary measures, including the deposit cap. This came after the previous SEK5,000 cap, which was introduced in 2020, finally expired.

The cap, together with measures such as an SEK100 limit on sign-up bonuses, was due to be made official this week and come into force on 7 February. However, at the last minute, the government abandoned the plan.

The decision was welcomed by Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary-general of industry association BOS, who said that it would not have helped to reduce gambling harm.

It is a wise and well-balanced decision that the government has made. Partly based on the general development of the pandemic. Partly, and above all, because precisely these restrictions would not achieve their purpose of protecting public health. We are in favor of strong regulation of the gaming market, and a prerequisite for this is that the intention with various reforms can also be expected to have the intended effect. That was not the case with the covid restrictions, and it is, therefore, welcome that they are withdrawn.

Gustaf HoffstedtSecretary General BOS

However, the government has announced a number of additional safer gambling proposals. Under the new rules, a gaming software license is obligatory for suppliers active in Sweden. Other proposals include the banning of the promotion of illegal gambling and an extension of the existing ban on unlicensed gambling. They are also exploring ways of adjusting gambling marketing laws in order to help protect young people from being exposed to gambling adverts.

There are also proposals for rules that would obligate licensees to provide information that would allow the Ministry of Finance to follow trends and developments in the gaming market, which Hoffstedt said the BOS is “cautiously positive” about.