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Sweden imposed a number of stringent regulations on the iGaming industry in light of COVID-19.
Those restrictions did not go down well with iGaming operators who felt that they were too harsh and would hurt both them and the iGaming market in the country.
Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) which is the Trade Association for Online Gambling in Sweden protested those changes but it fell on deaf ears as the government was adamant that these changes would offer better protection to Swedish players during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Stefan Löfven, the Prime Minister of Sweden announced on June 28 that he had submitted his resignation in light of the no confidence motion that came from Riksdag – which is the highest decision making assembly in the country.
With the PM stepping down, a number of resignations and changes are expected in the new few days. A caretaker government will now take over until Sweden votes and elects a new government and PM.
Aradalan Shekarabi, Minister for Social Security was the one who pushed for the stringent iGaming regulations to be rolled out. He initially introduced a cap on minimum deposits when the first lockdown was rolled out and then pushed for it to be extended till Nov 14, 2021.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Shekarabi was pushing for a new bill to be introduced to Riksdag to make these deposit limits a permanent cap on the Swedish iGaming market.
Positive Sign For iGaming Market
Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general for the BOS said the collapse of this government could turn out to be a positive sign for the iGaming industry in Sweden. This is because the caretaker government will not be able to extend the minimum deposit cap restrictions past Nov 14, 2021.
Hoffstedt also believes that Aradalan Shekarabi was a huge opponent of the iGaming market and made it his mission to make it difficult for licensed and international gaming operators. Hoffstedt alleged that Shekarabi tended to be partial towards state run gaming operators and dished out special treatment to them.
If Shekarabi steps down, it is very likely that whoever replaces him will not be as harsh as he was towards the iGaming market. Hoffstedt also pointed out that the opposition party used to criticize PM Löfven and his government regarding their stance on the iGaming market.
Sweden will have to wait and see who becomes the new PM but it appears that whoever comes to power will adopt a softer stance towards iGaming.
