To further enhance player protection, the Swedish government is pushing for legislation that aims to completely ban credit payment methods in gambling activities. Although the "Gambling Act" already includes such bans, current laws have significant loopholes that still allow some credit gambling activities to be legal.
Current regulations only prohibit credit card payments at "point of sale" scenarios, meaning that players can still use credit cards for online or offline gambling in other payment scenarios. Moreover, the current ban only restricts credit services provided by gambling operators or their agents, and does not cover credit funds provided by banks or third-party financial institutions.
The Swedish government's new proposal aims to plug these loopholes. Specific measures include: completely prohibiting players from using any form of credit during gambling, including credit obtained from external financial institutions; prohibiting operators from accepting bets known to be funded by credit; and neither retail nor online channels may accept credit card payments.
At the same time, operators will also be required to discourage players from using credit cards in gambling through advertising and information prompts. The government states that the goal of these measures is to prevent players from falling into debt due to gambling, especially in the context of continuously rising economic pressures.
It is noteworthy that the new bill still reserves exemption spaces for individual lottery operators, with details yet to be clarified. This proposal is seen as the latest step in Sweden's ongoing tightening of gambling industry regulation this year.
In February this year, the Swedish online gambling industry organization BOS submitted a call to the Ministry of Finance, suggesting a comprehensive tightening of the credit payment provisions of the "Gambling Act". Subsequently, in April, the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) released a report pointing out regulatory blind spots in current laws, especially in the online gambling sector, urgently needing reform to plug the loopholes.
This enhancement of the ban indicates that the Swedish government's stance on gambling regulation is becoming increasingly firm, and more restrictive measures may be introduced in the future to strengthen player protection and reduce the space for illegal and high-risk gambling activities.
