The Swedish government has confirmed that there are not to be any restrictions on daytime ads on online gambling.
This comes from a bill requiring licenses for B2B suppliers opted to not put into writing any restrictions on advertisements during the daytime. This major gambling reform bill was first announced in January but only includes a requirement for “adjusted moderation” when it comes to marketing.
What is in this bill?
The bill says that “the marketing of games should be adapted to take special account of the fact that different forms of gambling entail different risks of addiction”.
Clarifying, the Swedish government said that “adjusted moderation” doesn’t equate to “special moderation”, which is the given standard currently in place to sell alcohol and was posed as the standard for gambling marketing. This standard for alcohol says that marketing isn’t to be “intrusive, include outreach or urge people to use alcohol”.
“The government determined that both channeling and media revenues could be adversely impacted by such a ban, while many at-risk people would continue to be exposed to ads,” the government said.
What are the responses?
Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS), praised the bill, saying that the lack of a daytime ad ban was the most important aspect.
“It is entirely in line with what the government announced it would include and we are cautiously positive of this bill,” Hoffstedt said. “The most striking thing is actually what is not included in the proposal, such as a ban on advertising for gambling on TV, radio, and streaming media between 6 am and 9 pm.”
“We are pleased that the government has listened to stakeholders in the gambling industry as well as several publishers who have pointed out the disadvantages of such a proposal.”
