Swedish Government Considering Blanket Ban on Gambling Ads

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The Swedish government is reportedly mulling over a blanket ban on online casino advertising, a move that is likely to further to disrupt the dominance of its former gambling monopolies. The country’s Minister of Public Administration hopes this will help in tackling the issue of some of the online casino games that have been deemed to be dangerous as well as assisting in the elimination of “aggressive” gambling ads.

It would seem like the move has been motivated by a similar move by Italy which involved a blanket ban on gambling advertising. According to Ardalan Shekarabi, Sweden’s Minister for Public Administration, a blanket ban on gambling ads could be the very best option since, as it stands, the licensed gaming operators are not really doing much when it comes to consumer protection.

Already, an investigation has been launched and one it is done, it will deliver results on how gambling advertising is carried out in the country.  Based on these results, the ministry and the country’s other lawmakers will be able to craft dedicated legislation that would involve either a partial or total ban on all forms of gambling advertisement. The minister asserted that the government would do whatever it takes to protect the most vulnerable people – this would be achieved by ensuring that the gambling adverts are not too aggressive and do not target underage people.

Why Is It Necessary?

While it would have been much easier if the operator’s themselves had policies regarding the way they advertise their products and services, they, unfortunately, have proven to be very unreliable in this regard. Since the gaming operators have failed to moderate their advertising practices, it has the government no choice but step in and introduce some limitations.

Now, as part of the forthcoming crackdown on gambling ads, the gambling operators will have to deal with some rather stringent rules, regulations and restrictions with regards to how they are able to promote their products and services.

Svenska Spel Takes the Lead

Not all gaming operators have been totally oblivious to the need for consumers protection and responsible advertising though. Svenska Spel which is one of the country’s former gambling monopolies has recently taken the lead and set an example by terminating all of its online casino advertisements. This came after “intensive internal discussions” where it was concluded that nixing online adverts was one of the best ways of protecting consumers.

In addition to the internal discussions, the company also pointed out that the decision was also prompted by the results of a recent survey that revealed that about 30 percent of the country’s gamblers were having problems when it came to curbing or controlling their gambling habits.