Sweden’s online gambling trade association has urged the country’s regulator to revise several proposed responsible-gambling and technical requirements, arguing that parts of the planned framework lack clarity and could impose unnecessary restrictions on players who show no evidence of harmful gambling.
Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS), which represents licensed online gambling companies in Sweden, raised its concerns following consultations launched by Spelinspektionen earlier this summer.
The regulator published proposed new responsible-gambling rules on 16 June, with a separate consultation on updated technical requirements following two days later. Both consultations closed on 10 August. The responsible-gambling framework is intended to replace the existing LIFS 2018:2 regulations, while the technical package would replace SIFS 2022:3 and LIFS 2018:10.
BOS supports Spelinspektionen’s broader effort to modernise Sweden’s gambling safeguards but believes a number of specific provisions need further work before they are introduced.
BOS questions proposed gambling risk indicators
One point of disagreement concerns gambling between midnight and 6am. Under Spelinspektionen’s proposal, nighttime activity could be treated as an indicator when operators assess whether a customer is displaying excessive gambling behaviour.
BOS argues that the time period alone is not a sufficiently reliable measure of harm, particularly for sports bettors following competitions taking place in other time zones.
The association has also challenged how operators would be expected to assess customers’ financial gambling activity.
Spelinspektionen’s draft rules require operator action plans to consider both the difference between deposits and withdrawals and the difference between stakes and winnings when assessing gambling behaviour.
BOS believes deposits and withdrawals should carry greater weight because the amount wagered can be inflated when customers repeatedly recycle winnings through their accounts. Stakes and winnings could still be used, it argues, but primarily as indicators of gambling intensity rather than direct financial harm.
The trade body also objects to situations in which an operator could be required to suspend an account because it cannot verify that a customer has received responsible-gambling feedback.
BOS wants operators to have greater flexibility, including the ability to establish that an intervention has reached a player electronically or to take subsequent improvements in the customer’s gambling behaviour into account before imposing a suspension.
Mental-health assessments and login rules questioned
Another proposed requirement concerns interactions with customers who appear to display signs of mental illness or who communicate concerns about excessive gambling.
BOS says gambling operators should act on explicit information provided by players but argues that customer-service employees should not effectively be expected to make medical assessments for which they are not professionally qualified.
The association has also criticised a proposed technical rule that would end an online gambling session after one hour of inactivity.
Spelinspektionen previously proposed a two-hour inactivity threshold in its earlier technical work. BOS argues that shortening the period could create unnecessary repeated logins, particularly for sportsbook users who leave accounts open while following live sporting events.
It also believes repeated automatic logouts could distort some of the behavioural information operators use to identify potentially problematic gambling patterns.
Swedish law already places a duty of care on licensed operators. Under Chapter 14 of the Gambling Act, companies must monitor gambling behaviour, protect customers against excessive gambling and intervene where appropriate. Operators must also document how they identify risk and what measures they use in their responsible-gambling action plans.
BOS has proposed creating a permanent working group bringing together operators, researchers, treatment and support organisations and other stakeholders.
The association believes such a group could help develop more consistent risk indicators, assess different player profiles and determine when stronger interventions are justified.
Its broader position is that Sweden’s updated rules should remain proportionate and risk-based, directing the strongest restrictions at customers displaying genuine warning signs while avoiding unnecessary friction for players whose behaviour does not indicate gambling-related harm. The association has also warned that excessive restrictions could make Sweden’s regulated gambling market less attractive compared with unlicensed alternatives.