Sweden’s Minister of Public Administration, Ardalan Shekarabi, is said to be considering accelerating his project to introduce new gaming legislation in the country, in a move that could lead to a change in online gambling regulations by 2018.
In October last year, Shekarabi announced the government’s intention to move forward with an effort to establish a licensing system that can be implemented in the country.
Shekarabi had aimed to pass new gaming regulations before the country’s next general election in September 2018, with the process due to begin this autumn with an inquiry into changes to the law.
The revelation came after the European Commission in October 2014 referred the country to the European Court of Justice over claims that Sweden’s current online gaming monopoly is “imposing restrictions on the organisation and promotion of online betting services in a way which is inconsistent with EU law”.
However, hopes for new regulation in Sweden were hit in February of this year after Shekarabi said that changes to the regulated Swedish gaming environment were not on the country’s current agenda.
Despite Shekarabi’s statement, Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of the Swedish Association of Online Gambling Operators, told the Global Betting and Gaming Consultants website that the country may step up its effort liberalise its current gaming laws in the coming weeks.
Hoffstedt criticised the country’s gambling legislation for being “disconnected from the realities and demands of the market” and emphasised the need for change in regulations.
