The Swedish government is considering opening its doors to foreign gaming companies, The Local reports. It will be a tricky proposition, however, as the government wants to maintain its current income from its own state-run gaming operations, so must somehow find a way to prevent foreign companies from running Internet gaming businesses from within the country.
Ideally, the foreign businesses would pay for a gaming licence to take bets on popular sports such as football, ice hockey and horse racing. Only people over the age of 18 can place bets, and businesses accepting bets from underage teens would be punished by law. The biggest issue facing the commission is how to deal with Internet sports betting and online poker.
In order to keep the gaming revenue in its own coffers, the Swedish government may have to block IP addresses and restrict payment options. Officially licensed companies would not be allowed to open casinos or set up game machines. Head of the Swedish government gambling commission, Jan Nyren says that the government feels strongly that gaming machines create a negative effect on society and therefore doesn’t want them around.
To maintain law and order with the expanded gaming operations, the government would like to establish a new monitoring agency and make existing rules tighter. The gaming commission’s final proposal will be submitted to the government in December for a ruling.
>I can’t understand why they are so determined to kep svenska spel going – most of the Euro countries with a monopoly have found their income from taxing commercial operators to be higher than the income from the monopoly.
Because they are burecrats and simply do not want to understand that this stuff go on wether they ” regulate ” against it or not, just without tax money in the government pockets.
Typical king canute ideas.
Just like the EU burecrat ban on the 100 watt lightbulbs in whole of EU. People are going to evade this nonsense and in process they respect for EU goes down for coming up with such nonsense.
>To maintain law and order with the expanded gaming operations, the government would like to establish a new monitoring agency and make existing rules tighter.
You go ahead do that Mr and Mrs Burecrats.
And in meantime those Gibraltar and Malta poker companies do take all that money that could be being given in tax instead to governmet of Sweden.
@Nate – they probably need high taxes to support all the loosers. right2loose would be a better domain.
I can’t understand why they are so determined to kep svenska spel going – most of the Euro countries with a monopoly have found their income from taxing commercial operators to be higher than the income from the monopoly.
Anyway, theres a petition set up at http://www.right2bet.net if anyone would like to sign up!