Swedish court rules against gamblers who sought self-exclusion removal

The Administrative Court of Linköping in Sweden has ruled that the gamblers cannot voluntarily get out of self-exclusion before the end of the agreed period.

Sweden maintains a database called Spelpaus for gamblers who opt for self-exclusion. Each gambler seeking self-exclusion must specify a period for which the exclusion will be applicable. Some gamblers have approached the authorities for removing their names from the database so that they can start gambling again. When the authorities refused their request, they filed a case in the court.

However, the court ruled against it and stated that they must undergo self-exclusion till the end of the specified period. The court noted in the ruling that such voluntary opt-outs will defeat the purpose of self-exclusion. Spelpaus was launched on January 1 when Sweden’s regulated igaming market was started.

Players are required to register with their BankID number, and are then blocked from accessing igaming sites for the agreed period, while operators are also required to remove their details from all marketing databases.