Swedish gambling regulator to get funding as ahead of looming market regulation date

Lotteriinspektionen, the gambling authority of Sweden, could receive increased funding from the government, as the country is nearing the completion of the reformulation of gambling legislation. It is expected that the regulatory body will be entrusted with larger responsibilities and will need more funding to carry them out.

The government has already mooted a proposal in the country’s budget to grant an additional of SEK19 million (approximately $2.2 million) to Lotteriinspektionen. At present, the agency gets around SEK51 million (about $6 million) every year from the government to run its gambling regulation activities.

The additional financing, which awaits approval from Swedish legislators, will provide the much-needed help for the regulatory body to meet the expenses related to its expanded tasks and responsibilities.

The re-regulation of gambling market in Sweden is set to complete early next year. Currently, a host of state-run entities regulate the gambling activities, with Svenska Spel being the largest player in the regulated market.

Once the country’s revised gambling law takes effect on January 1, 2019, foreign gaming and betting companies will be able to obtain online gambling licenses from Lotteriinspektionen and operate in the country’s regulated environment. Svenska Spel will keep its monopoly over land-based gambling.