New Swedish Gambling Legislation

The Swedish government is attempting to modify some regulations on online gambling following a report on local casino players’ behavior, showing an increase in pathological gambling […] among certain groups of gamblers.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeld signed a statement for modifying some gambling regulations for including more social issues, controlling illegal gambling sites, and targeting daily budgets and hours spent online per player.
The report, made by Sweden’s National Audit Office – Riskrevisionen-, states that Svenska Spel, one of Sweden’s few licensed operators -and the only one authorized for poker gambling- had also a negative review for not being socially conscious enough in marketing their gaming services, asserting that [Svenska Spel] does not currently take sufficient account of the risks involved with pathological gambling.
The proposals passed on by the prime minister shall start implementation by mid-2014, including additional government control on site safety and legal compliance, fighting back illegal gambling, and ensuring social responsibility especially on marketing campaigns that may encourage gambling addiction.
The report seeks to promote a more standard gambling regulation among EU members, declaring that

“If gaming policy is not implemented in a consistent and systematic way in the light of the objective to be achieved, there is a risk that this is contrary to the criteria for regulation in the European Union Treaty which may also result in gambling policy not working in an efficient and expedient manner,”

The reform proposals may end up generating a new licensing and supervision system within the Swedish online gambling industry, with possible increases on taxes and sanctions to non-authorized gambling sites. Since Svenska Spel is a government owned casino site, it is highly probable that the first changes will be taken by them on following the new regulations.