Sweden wants to do more about match-fixing

Match-fixing has plagued many sports and sports betting events globally. It takes away from the fairness of the game and also robs many fans while enriching the perpetrators.

Swedish people have been victims of match-fixing and more recently, their government is making moves to manage the problem. The issue has been a challenge for both sports and sports betting which the Finance Minister and Swedish Gaming Authority Chairperson have collaborated to uproot.

The Finance Minister, Niklas Wykman, and the Chairperson of the Swedish Gaming Authority, Camilla Rosenberg, have begun an initiative with measures to address the issue and manage it across key areas.

Wykman said, "Match-fixing fattens the gangs at the same time as, among other things, harm is done to youth sports. Athletes should not be pawns in the activities of organised crime. To fight crime and protect sports, it is important to stop match-fixing."

The Solution

The first pressing area that the collaboration will address is communication between the key stakeholders. The key stakeholders are sports federations, gambling companies and the regulator.

The stakeholders will be required to flag incidences of match-fixing and exchange information about the events with each other. The information shared will make it difficult for incidences of match-fixing to go undetected and unresolved and assist plan and executing mitigations before they occur.

To show the seriousness of the initiative, the government has provided an additional $1million. The initiative will also introduce several tweaks on a regulatory level requiring operators to exchange information with peers and regulators.

The onus of providing and exchanging information will be on each stakeholder. To enforce it, delay or failure to follow the directives will result in a hefty penalty. The hefty penalty to deter non-compliance will be equivalent to 10% annual turnover of the company.

Besides putting in place a value-adding initiative and significant penalties to incentivise companies to comply, the Authority has tasked the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate to set up a platform that will facilitate information sharing.

In support, the Swedish Trwd Association for Online Gambling, BOS, representing 18 prominent gambling companies in the Swedish market, commented on the issue. According to BOS, corrupt markets repel regular consumers from placing wagers. A fraud-free market would therefore encourage consumers trust. 

More so, BOS also stressed the importance of channelisation of the Swedish Gaming market. They encouraged the government to achieve its promise of at least 90% channelisation to licensed gambling operators. 

Additionally, the Swedish Gaming Authority is not just focusing its efforts on match-fixing by working strictly with local partners. It has also formed a partnership with the International Betting Integrity Association which has been mitigating match-fixing on both a local and global level.

The regulation tweaks will come into effect on 1 July 2024.