Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen said it would have “no objections” to the country’s government putting in place new temporary restrictions for online slots, but warned the impact of the measure was still unclear.
Earlier this month, Sweden’s government launched a consultation on a new, lower deposit limit for online casinos of SEK4,000 (£324/€388/$443) a month, with this set to come into force from February.
The aim of the new measures, which would be implemented from 7 February until 30 June, would be to minimise gambling-related harm and risks amid the ongoing pandemic.
The player protection argument was also used as justification for the previous online casino deposit cap of SEK5,000, which was in force between 2 July 2020 and 14 November 2021.
While originally intended to be a short-term measure, the cap was repeatedly extended and kept in place throughout the pandemic.
Responding to the latest consultation, which is due to close today (17 January), Spelinspektionen said that while it would not oppose the re-introduction of temporary measures, given the resurgence of Covid-19 in Sweden, it is still too early to know the impact these rules have on players.
Spelinspektionen was previously critical of the SEK5,000 deposit limit that was put in place in mid-2020, arguing that there was not enough evidence to support such measures.
The regulator said its position on this has not changed and more data is required if such measures are to remain place for the longer term.
However, the regulator also said it was pleased that greater clarification had been given in terms of how operators manage players who set their deposit limits higher than SEK4,000 a week, but later lower this limit.
Spelinspektionen added that is still in the process of evaluating the impart of the existing temporary measures and will report its findings back to the government no later than 15 March.
