A row has kicked off in Sweden, which could affect many UK and non-UK players. The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has ordered digital wallet service Zimpler to cease all support for unlicensed gambling, including casinos not on GamStop. The order was issued on the 7th of July 2023, but Zimpler has since appealed the order to continue serving customers, and have a more realistic time frame to complete the order.
Swedish gambling regulations have long been criticized for the state run monopoly they hold on gaming, with criticism coming from both the public and the EU Competition Commission. On paper, a Swedish gambling authority running Swedish gambling for the Swedish people seems like a great idea, but in practice it simply means SGA affiliated casinos can get away with anything basically, since they essentially police themselves.
They also eliminate any form of competition or choice for gamblers with their repressive approach, which is why the EU has repeatedly criticized the authority and its inflexible decisions. Swedish gambling once again has been hampered and curtailed by the SGA’s overreach on Swedish freedoms, this time by attacking the digital wallet service Zimpler, and how they offer their services to Swedes.
How the Row Started
Zimpler is a digital wallet service with a pretty small user base, exceeding just over 100 000 users. Sweden has a population of about 10 million people, and Zimpler serves the Swedish population exclusively, so it’s not a huge company, and it has a very specific target market.
Their service features a process called the BankID protocol that allows users to make local and international payments for goods and services, including real money deposits and withdrawal with casinos not on Gamstop.
This brought the company to the attention of the Swedish Gambling Authority who is generally pretty ruthless in their crackdown on online casinos that are not part of their affiliated Swedish casino groups as they do not fall under Swedish gambling regulation.
The SGA ordered Zimpler to cease their payment services that facilitate any access to online casinos who are not affiliated with their government sanctioned licensing department. The penalty Zimpler will face is over £1.7 million. They gave Zimpler a month to comply, which has led Zimpler to launch an urgent appeal for more time.
SGA Posturing and Intimidation
Zimpler has already stated in May 2023 that they will phase out services to unlicensed casino operators, so the posturing by the SGA has ruffled plenty of feathers locally and internationally. Not only is this a blow to gamblers in Sweden, but it has also drawn the ire of the EU competition Commission that has stated that the SGA’s strong hold on the Swedish market hurts the economic well-being of the EU gaming industry as a whole.
It should also be stated that the SGA’s concerns with “unlicensed casinos”, is not to protect consumers. In their definition “unlicensed” specifically means online casinos that are not licensed by the Swedish Gambling Authority. This means any one of our recommended non Gamstop casinos that carry a licence with any other global gaming authority, even the UK Gambling Commission, does not qualify.
Essentially, no gambler in Sweden can access any of these great platforms — they must play at Swedish venues exclusively. The EU has always taken issue with any attack on a free market within EU member states, but the SGA has always managed to reject the EU’s concerns and maintain their grip on the local gaming market. Many gamblers have tried to make use of VPN services to handle their online gambling and skirt the SGA laws, but it still doesn’t change the fact that you need services like Zimpler to process your winnings.
Backed into a corner: What’s the outcome for Zimpler?
It seems that Zimpler has no choice but to comply with the SGA. A massive portion of their small user base makes use of the service specifically for gambling with real money online. Ironically, this SGA motion shows just why their monopoly on gambling in Sweden is a bad idea.
While the SGA’s intentions may be debatably good, in practice we can see it raises plenty of questions and some serious concerns for healthy competition. Without competition, you risk losing a healthy gambling market for Swedish punters. In Sweden’s small gambling market, regulatory bodies like the SGA can make significant decisions with relative ease. Their intention is to maintain a firm hold on the industry by restricting entry to Non GamStop casinos. The current status of Zimpler’s appeal pending, and we will provide further updates as new details emerge.
One Small Hurdle Can’t Kill the Fun
Players that rely on Zimpler to fulfil their gaming requirements, your fun has not come to an end! There are so many ways to pay, allowing you to play and enjoy all the games you’ve grown to love. We recommend doing some research on alternative deposit methods, with crypto being the safest and most reliable way to pay. Stay safe, and don’t forget to enjoy yourself!
