BOS, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, has welcomed a decision to waive the reinstatement of COVID limitations on online casinos, following earlier this month’s caution and appeal for a rethink on the issue. 

BOS glad restrictions averted 

This comes after Sweden’s finance ministry issued a memorandum proposing a possible reintroduction on February 7, 2022, lasting through the end of June.

They would be introduced “if considered necessary in light of the current scenario,” it was said at the time. The proposal included language stating that the deposit limit for online casinos cannot exceed SEK 4,000, and that the similar loss limit applies to ATM games.

Additionally, players would be required to establish time limitations when playing at online casinos and ATMs, with bonuses granted by licensees limited to a maximum of SEK 100. However, the prospective return received support from the Spelinspektionen, which stated that it had “no problems” to the reinstatement of temporary gaming liability measures in Sweden in light of COVID-19’s expanded dissemination.

According to the Swedish Gaming Authority, the “rapid spread” observed earlier this month prompted the government to implement tougher infection control measures. As a result, the circumstances surrounding the first introduction “are now regarded to exist again.”

Quotes from the Press Release

“The government has made a prudent and well-balanced decision. Based in part on the pandemic’s overall trajectory. Partly, and most importantly, because these limits would fail to accomplish their stated goal of preserving public health,” observed Gustaf Hoffstedt, BOSS’s secretary-general.

“We support tight regulation of the gaming business, but this requires that the goal behind various reforms is also expected to have the desired effect. That was not the case with the COVID limits, and their abolition is consequently welcomed.”