Regulating the online gambling industry has become one of the prime tasks for all the governments out there. The reason is quite simple, we are talking about an industry that generates billions of US dollars on a global level. Naturally, there is a lot of money to be made for the government through taxes.
That money can be later invested in numerous fields of life, like improving the infrastructure of the country. Another indicator that there is a lot of money in this segment of the gambling industry is that there are so many online casinos for you to choose from.
If you want to take a look at one of these, then pay a visit to CasinoDots. In the last couple of years, you will see that many European governments have opted to go down this way. After they have seen it is so beneficial, many of them have followed the example. One of these countries is Sweden.
The whole purpose of the bill introduced by the Swedish parliament is to regulate the gambling market and make sure that the players are protected from potential scams. You have certainly heard about many scams that occur online through these sites. That’s why the government needs to regulate it.
Today, we want to provide an overview of the license requirements according to this bill.
Overview of the Market
Source: hoajonline.com
If you start digging through the history of Sweden’s gambling sector, you will see that it was in chaos for quite a long time. At one point, it became so bad that it received some massive criticism from other members of the European Union.
It caused many problems especially when it comes to violating the international trade agreements. That was one of the signs that local regulation must evolve. Another point that was heavily criticized was the state monopoly over the industry Sweden had.
So, the government has decided to make the companies that work in this industry private. Of course, this was a long process, not only creating the regulation, but we are also talking about the implementation.
The government has sought proper examples from other countries but also tried to find new innovative ways. After the implementation, the monopoly of the state was removed. At the same time, we can see that the digitalization of the industry has made it possible for clients to place wagers with offshore operations.
What does this mean practically? Well, it means that local players can play on foreign websites without any restrictions. Regulating this sort of connection is an absolute must as you see.
Type of Licenses
Source: mynewsdesk.com
The first thing we need to understand regarding Sweden’s online gambling bill is to take a look at the licenses offered by this bill. When you scratch the surface, you will see that there are main six types to choose from.
The first one refers to commercial online games. It is followed by betting, land-based commercial games, games on ships in international traffic, games reserved for the state, and games reserved for public purposes. The way to obtain one of these licenses is to apply in writing.
Another thing you should know is that the application should be in the Swedish language. We can see that the license that refers to online games is way more common than any other. The reason is quite simple since the number of these websites has skyrocketed in the decade.
When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Regardless of the license you are looking for, you should know that every license is granted for five years. When it expires, the application should be resubmitted.
We are not talking about an automatic procedure, which means that the website needs to meet all the requirements that are presented by the law introduced by the government. The costs depend on the license you are looking for.
Requirements for the Swedish Gambling License
Source: europeangaming.eu
When it comes to the requirements, you can be sure that the license is not short. The government institution needs to make sure that your gambling operation satisfies all the standards. We are not talking only about providing the players with the right security against the potential scam.
We are also talking about a wide array of different things that are mostly not visible at first. For instance, it is required to provide information about the company. Furthermore, it is essential to provide the list of the management and board of directors.
If you are a foreigner, it is required that you have a Swedish representative. It will make your job significantly easier. But not only that, but it also makes the process simple since the language is required. Of course, you should think license period, which varies from case to case.
How Does the Permit Affect the Gambling Operations?
Source: jagdhaus-eiden.de
What should be understood is that even those operators who hold a Swedish license will not avoid the need to get a permit for any sort of update they would like to implement.
Under the current legislation, the operators are responsible for a wide array of different actions, such as providing the player a chance to test their luck or skills with their favorite games, but also to make sure they are protected while playing. Not only that, but the holder of a license should also think about making sure that all the partners or sub-contractors should meet the local legislation.
If you think about it closely, this makes actual sense since more and more of the industry is digitalized every day. With that in mind, it becomes necessary to have complete control over these procedures, while ensuring the quality of the games as well.
Summary
We all know that each country has its regulation when it comes to various fields. So, nobody should be surprised that Sweden has the same in the case of the gambling industry. Here, you can take a look at it in greater detail and see both the influence of foreign regulation and the inventive approaches they have undertaken to create the one they have now.
