Major Changes to Sweden’s Gambling Act Approved

The Riksdag has approved changes to Sweden’s Gambling Act 2018, allowing licence holders to process personal data related to legal offences.

The amendments, authorised on 28 November, give licence holders the right to process data under specific circumstances, such as detecting criminal activity, monitoring suspicious betting patterns, preventing match-fixing, and enforcing compliance.

Licence holders can process a customer’s personal data only if illegal activities, like cheating or fraud, are detected on their account. 

The changes also allow monitoring of individual accounts for unusual betting behaviour to help Swedish authorities tackle match-fixing and sports corruption.

In May, Sweden’s Conservative Coalition government introduced new controls and launched a multi-authority data-sharing platform to combat match-fixing and sports corruption. These amendments strengthen regulatory oversight by giving licence holders a legal framework to manage data more effectively.

The government clarified that the Gambling Act aligns with GDPR rules, serving as a legal basis or legitimate interest under Article 6 as Operators must ensure data processing is strictly limited to detecting fraud or ensuring compliance.

During the consultation, the Culture Committee backed the proposal, noting no objections were raised. The Legislative Council also reviewed the proposal without comments.

The amendments will take effect on 1 February 2025.

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