Swedish gambling advertising debate heats up
Newspaper association "sick and tired" of Svenska Spel monopoly as operator continues to be defended by regulator
The Swedish Newspaper Publishers’ Association Tidningsutgivarna (TU) has hit back at recent comments made by Svenska Spel following the media organisation’s complaint to the European Commission which questioned the legality of the country’s gambling monopoly.
In an article for financial newspaper Dagens Industry, chairwoman of the Swedish operator Anitra Steen wrote that the “party was over” for newspapers seeking to profit from foreign gambling advertisements and defended the legitimacy of the state monopoly.
“There is no longer any doubt that the EU treaties on free movement allows Member States to maintain exclusive rights and monopoly in the gaming area, and that parliament could continue to exclude private profit from this market,” she wrote. “Anyone who says the opposite is actually the father of falsehoods in the public debate.”
The comments follow a formal complaint lodged in December against the Swedish model to the European Commission by TU which believes the gambling monopoly fails to comply with EU law, urging the government to allow private competitors in the market.
Speaking with eGaming Review this morning, president of TU Per Hultengård said his organisation had been forced to take its complaint to the Commission after becoming increasingly frustrated with the current gambling model.
“The Swedish Gambling Authority has by penalties and court proceedings for decades harassed Swedish newspapers that “ in print as well as online “ have published ads for gambling companies,” he said. “We had hoped that the current Government would take steps to change the situation, but they rather seem to preserve the gambling monopoly.
“We are sick and tired of this and want to put pressure on the Swedish Government by lodging the complaint with the Commission, as we know that the Commission is already questioning the gambling monopoly,” HultengÃ¥rd added.
The Commission has confirmed that it has received the complaint and has requested that by the end of the month the Swedish Government outlines what it intends to do with its current gambling legislation.
The latest developments follows last year’s injunctions issued by the Swedish Gambling Authority against two of Sweden’s biggest national newspapers for linking to foreign gambling companies on their websites.
An order issued by the regulator found the Aftonbladet and Expressen newspapers in breach of the Swedish Lottery Act and were required to pay a fine of SEK45,000 (£4,340) per day until the links were removed.