B2B Gaming Licenses in Sweden Closer to Reality, and So Are Higher Operator Fees

Posted on: March 8, 2022, 09:20h. 

Last updated on: March 8, 2022, 01:18h.

Erik Gibbs Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

The Swedish government has presented its plans for B2B gaming software licensing. It also threw in a proposal for increased fees for online gaming operators.

In January, Sweden proposed licensing B2B suppliers. The rules would make it mandatory that suppliers offering their services to Swedish operators have a license for gaming software.

The Ministry has presented how the new rules would work and is inviting input on the structure. The proposed rules would increase the application fee for supplier licenses to SEK120,000 (US$12,036).

The government revealed that around 70 software licenses will be available at launch. However, it also stated that the implementation of the licenses, along with the associated fees, should not have a significant effect on competition.

The proposals won’t have any other significant effects on the licensee or licensee’s working conditions or competitiveness. However, Spelinspektionen could also issue additional regulations that govern the terms of the B2B license.

The initiative, according to Minister for Social Security Ardalan Schekarabi, will help clean up the industry. In addition, it will eliminate questionable software providers and ensure better consumer protections.

Renewal Fees to Increase

Online operators could soon pay more to stay in the Swedish market. The same measure that will establish the supplier licenses and fees will raise the renewal fees for online operators to SEK300,000 (US$30,090).

The government stated that the current fee for renewing a license for online gambling and commercial betting does not include the actual costs incurred by Spelinspektionen, the gaming regulator. It added that the processing steps for an application renewal are the same as for a new application. Therefore, the costs are the same.

Among other things, all checks must be carried out again in the event of a license renewal. In addition, the gaming companies’ organization and staff are seldom the same as at the previous application, which means that Spelinspektionen must test whether the new people and the organization meet the set requirements,” wrote the Swedish government.

The new fee is still relatively low in comparison to the size of the online gaming market, according to Sweden. The government stated that total licensing fees would make up only 0.03% of total turnover during the validity period.

Cash Cow

The announcement is timely. Spelinspektionen just announced Sweden’s gaming revenue from last year, with the regulator reporting income of  SEK53.1 million (US$5.32 million). Additional money from licensing activity will allow it to increase that amount.

The rules, if adopted, would take effect on March 1 of next year. This is two months later than was originally proposed.