Kindred slams Sweden’s newly proposed pandemic-related online gambling restrictions

Sweden-based operator, which has a significant presence in Malta, Kindred, has issued a stinging rebuke of proposals by the Swedish Government to re-introduce temporary restriction on online gambling.

The restrictions, which include a deposit cap of SEK4,000 (€387) weekly for online slots, a mandatory login time limit for players gambling online or at state-owned locations, and a loss limit when gambling in person at a machine outside of a casino.

Kindred states that while the overall response of Sweden's Government to the pandemic has been "pragmatic," enabling Swedish society to be as open as possible, restrictions on online gambling have been "ill-founder and did not meet the criteria of evidence-based policymaking."

According to the operator, the Minister in charge of the reform, Ardalan Shekarabi, even got reprimanded by the Swedish Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution for "groundlessly" claiming that gambling on online casinos had increased during the pandemic.

Kindred claims that the measure will make it more difficult for licensed gambling companies to fulfil their duty of care, and have a negative effect, by pushing gamblers to unlicensed operators. Additionally, it says that by pushing through the proposed measure in such a short time frame, the Government is risking fostering a rushed, low-quality implementation by operators.

"If the Swedish government, despite the serious objections raised, decides to move ahead with temporary gambling responsibility measures, the simplest and least problematic solution would be to impose exactly the same measures that applied during the previous restriction period," Kindred insists.