Swedish Government Collapse Delays Regulation

Re-regulation of gaming has hit what could be called a snag: the collapse of the government.

Reconstruction

The dust will clear in March 2015, when Sweden's Social Democrat prime minister Stefan Löfven has called for a snap general election. The current government fell through after Lofven's failure to secure approval for the budget, a scant two months after assuming office.

Regulation Issues

The new regulation was anticipated in light of the primary iGaming issue in Sweden revolving around Swedish government attempts at prevention of competition with monopoly gaming provider Svenska Svel from offshore online operators.

Sweden is currently at a regulation crossroads, where benefits need to be established in order to move forward with more equitable legislation. Currently, the long-standing monopoly of Svenska Svel is a bone of contention for the gambling industry and the European Commission, which wants Sweden to open its market to operators from the private sector.

Sweden's government is traditionally resistant to change, but could benefit from regulation with a potential tax revenues of SEK 1.68 billion by 2016. It could also allow other Swedish industries to benefit, such as advertisers and the media, providing a needed boost to the economy. The quality of games and the options for Swedish customers would also increase.

Gambling Government Official

The situation is rather awkward for one government official, Jimmie Åkesson, the 35-year-old leader of the Sweden Democrats, an avid gambler who was not only shown a propensity for losing large sums of money—but doing so at sites licensed offshore in Malta, outside of the domestic market he is entrusted with protecting.

More Time Needed

There is some time to bandy about all the issues, and settle all the controversies, hopefully in time for the new vote, an opportunity for the Swedish government to come clean and align itself with the regulation movement spreading across Europe.