New Swedish Regulation Will not Spel End
Published April 3, 2017 by Lee R
Licensing foreign operators is designed to increase GGR tax income.
Tangible news regarding the course of long-awaited Swedish adaptations to dissolve the longstanding monopoly has come out.
GGR Percentage System
Reuters reports that the monopoly will be replaced according to a new regulation system taxing licensed regulator 18% of Gross Gaming Revenue GGR.
Adding Taxable Entities
Drafted for government review by special investigator Hakan Hallstedt, the recommendations are designed to bring into the fold foreign-based online gambling companies which have established a strong Swedish market niche.
Big Names Entrenched
Large operators such as Kindred Group and Betsson are among those foreign operators who have established themselves in the Swedish market.
Preparing for Entry
A Kindred spokesperson explained to iGaming Business the obtainance of local licenses in re-regulated markets is part of standard organisational procedure at this point, but the course of entry will not be chartable until “we know what set of regulations the Parliament will actually adopt in 2018."
Reform Movement
The notion of reforming the monopoly system to increase tax revenues entered realistic consideration in 2015 when the Swedish government commissioned an investigation into an online licensing system, a year after the European Commission announced that it was taking the country to the European Union’s top court.
Raising Income
The Swedish Gambling Authority estimates that an open market system could push the take of online-licensed and taxed gambling take from the current level of 77% of the gambling landscape up to 90%, with no negative impact on Sweden’s existing government-run casino and lottery operator Svenska Spel.
Swedish Spel Remains
The interesting note here is that people commonly assume that when monopolies get broken up, so does the government-run operating company. In this case, it appears an arrangement is being made for the government’s Svenska Spel to operate alongside a free market of licensed operators within Swedish jurisdiction.
See How it Goes
A regulated market integrating the GGR distribution among government-owned and private license enterprises is a rather unique experiment, and possible solution, to adaptation in government-monopolised markets.
