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The world of online gambling continues to soar in popularity in every corner of the globe. As the industry grows, moves are consistency made to advance and enhance offerings and processes. It's important governments and authorities track this sector to ensure players are protected with their safety and security paramount.
With that in mind, it's interesting to note that a potential ban on offers and promotions like casino welcome bonuses is being discussed in Sweden. This could have a major bearing on the ways in which residents and visitors interact with online operators when placing wagers.
What's the Story?
With online gambling a popular pursuit, the way in which games are played and regulated are of the utmost of importance. Often, changes made to betting processes can cause plenty of debate and that has been the case in Sweden. After talk arose that gambling monopolies ATG and Svenska Spel were proposing a blanket ban on bonuses in the nation's iGaming sector, BOS was swift to speak out. The country's Trade Association for Online Gambling, BOS insisted such a move was being mooted as the two operators attempted to increase their market share.
It was in the first week of November that ATG and Svenska Spel submitted a joint op-ed article in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper outlining support for a possible ban on all bonuses awarded by licensed operators. The arguments made were that the use of bonuses could lead to gambling problems, particularly for younger gamers who may be inclined to ook for bonuses when playing games like poker online. One statistic used stated that gambling among boys in high school went up from 27% to 43% in five years.
How could such a Move Impact the Industry and Gamers in Sweden?
Such a proposal highlights the need for players to always compare and assess a range of casino welcome bonuses in order to find the one which best suits their needs, situation and preferences. These offers and promotions can enhance the gaming experience for players and so any removal would certainly have an impact on betting going forward.
Guides highlighting the best casino bonuses by licensed operators allow players to swiftly locate the most popular and trusted offers and sites, helping gamers to make smart and informed decisions before placing sports wagers or playing classic casino pursuits.
If a ban was put in place, licensed operators would face growing pressure to maintain player engagement without these traditional incentives like welcome bonuses and loyalty bonuses. Some players could decide to explore unregulated operators, putting them at risk of gaming with sites where personal information and financial details are not protected, for instance. Regulated and licensed platforms take the safety and security of players seriously but this might not be the case elsewhere meaning would-be hackers could potentially access sensitive player data.
The Reaction from BOS
Bos acknowledged concerns over young people and the dangers and risks associated but rejected any direct links to bonus offers. Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt insisted: “We believe that everyone agrees and is concerned that gambling among young people under the age of 18 is a growing problem.
“But to claim that this is due to the welcome bonuses that are currently offered to adult players, without mentioning how today’s young people learn to play for money through so-called skins and loot boxes in their favourite games, is not serious.”
Such a move to ban bonuses could see players look elsewhere at unlicensed and unregulated sites which may cause issues for players in the long run. By sticking with the current bonus set-up, it is more likely gamers will continue
“A high proportion of legally licensed gambling is achieved through striking a balance between consumer protection and gambling pleasure,” Hoffstedt added. “The gambling consumers must themselves want to be in the licensed gambling market. If this is not achieved, the entire system will collapse.
“Now (Svenska Spel’s Anna) Johnson and (ATG's Hasse) Lord Skarplöth also want to remove the possibility of giving a bonus to a new gambling customer. If they get their way, we probably haven’t seen the bottom yet in how low the proportion of legally licensed gambling can fall.”
Why the Call to Ban Bonuses
With Svenska Spel and ATG coming together to push forward reasons for a bonus ban, some observers will be cynical and feel the move comes to benefit those sites. This regulatory pressure is also present elsewhere in EU, with recent UK tax incease also promting a response from Sweden to rethink how gambling is taxed and regulated. Hoffstedt believes any move to halt offers and promotions would reduce the size of the betting market in Sweden, ensuring more gamers would stick to these regulated sites..
“Both of these gambling companies, which emerged from the Swedish gambling monopoly, took significant market shares with them from the start when the Swedish gambling market was re-regulated in 2019,” said Hoffstedt. “The fact that their competitors, who in many cases start with zero customers on their database, are prohibited from offering a bonus when a new customer is recruited is of course tempting for the old monopolists.
“But they bite their own tail. Because with demands for further restrictions on the legal licensed gambling market, they can only defend their market share in an increasingly shrinking licence market.
“These two companies could have brought together the gambling market, or at least the members of their own trade association, for some common good. However, they ignore this and run solo games for short-term benefit for themselves, but not for Sweden and above all not for consumer protection in the gambling market."
How Bonuses Impact Betting
Bonuses are a great way to enhance an online gaming experience and so many gamer take time conducting thorough research to identify offers and promotions that can help them to boost their gameplay.
Allowing for more extended and varied gameplay, offers and promotions can help players to make moves they ordinarily wouldn't be able to pull off. Without the usual risks associated with online gambling, players can take an extra step when wagering, whether predicting another game outcome in soccer or playing another poker session.
Loyalty bonuses are often gifted to players when they first sign up to a platform and so this can be useful as smart players can use the reward to make a practice move when learning how to play a particular pursuit. Welcome bonuses, meanwhile, are presented to players who have consistently gamed with the same platform for a length of time. These rewards boost trust between players and operators.
Wrapping Up
Overall, any bonus bans in Sweden would certainly alter the way in which games are played across Sweden. In the meantime, the debate is set to continue while players will make use of offers and promotions as long as they are still available.
