Anti-Gambling Sweep In Sweden

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Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 https://www.gowanbo.cc

Nationwide swoop on 150 locations

The Swedish police made numerous arrests and confiscated large amounts of gambling gear this week, raiding 150 location around the Scandinavian country, reports The Local.se.  The report does not clarify whether online gambling venues were included in the operations.

Cafes, bars and clubs in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Västerås, Uppsala were visited, and police spokesman Malin Sahlstrom revealed that: "A large number of people have been arrested and questioned."  Sahlstrom added that police have seized 300 illegal gaming machines.

The operation was described by police as the largest ever of its kind. Police and prosecutors were aided in their investigations by the Tax Board, the National Economic Crimes Bureau and the Gaming Board.

"I don't want to go into the exact number, but at least ten people are suspected of tax offences, false accounting offences and obstruction of tax checks," said Christina Greiner, chief prosecutor at the Economic Crimes Bureau.

Many more people were arrested on suspicion of illicit gambling and various breaches of Sweden's gaming laws.

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ECJ Prosecution Called For In Sweden

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 mgowanbo.cc

Major daily newspaper calls for an end to Swedish government's disrespect for EU Treaty

The sense of frustration is almost palpable in an open letter to European Union compliance chief Charlie McCreevy published this week by past and present Aftonbladet editors Anders Gerdin and Jan Helin. In the letter, the distinguished journalists call for enforcement of EU requirements on Sweden for free movement of trade and services between EU member nations involved in online gambling.

Aftonbladet is the biggest daily newspaper in the Nordic region and, along with other media, is being subjected to what appears to be unrelenting pressure to stop accepting advertising from EU competitors to the state gambling monopoly Svenske Spel. Aftonbladet is itself facing three cases, based on its belief that accepting competitive advertising from other EU nations is not punishable under EU Treaty-based legislation.

Swedish authorities are hewing slavishly to a 2004 Swedish High Administrative Court ruling that found Swedish protectionist laws to be compatible with EU law, a finding clearly at odds with the facts or subsequent developments. One of those developments is a June 2007 Reasoned Opinion from the EU compliance authorities that the Swedish government is in violation of EU law.  However, with the two month window to redress this situation long past, little has been done to bring relief to companies suffering as a result of continued prosecution and pressure by Swedish officialdom.

The letter emphasises the need for "strong and decisive" measures by the European Commission to address the Swedish non-compliance and thus ensure that companies like Aftonbladet do not suffer the severe financial impact of having to turn away advertising by online gambling companies in other EU countries. Aftonbladet alone stands to lose up to SEK 80 million (Euro 8.5 million) a year in lost revenues if Swedish government activity forces it to reject outside advertisements.

Aftonbladet's balanced and competition friendly policies have made it a target for "constant and fierce" attacks by the Swedish Gaming Board, together with other Swedish and Danish media, the editors reveal.  The letter also details inequities in the Swedish official approach to gambling advertising which favours state monopolies like Svenske Spel.

The editors conclude their appeal by urging the European Commission to "proceed as soon as possible" with its infringement procedure against the Swedish government in relation to sports betting and poker policies by initiating a European Court of Justice prosecution .

"It is high time to put an end to the Swedish government's lack of respect for the EU Treaty," the editors write.

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Swedes After Evaded Online Gambling Taxes?

Published: Friday, February 01, 2008 mgowanbo.cc

Affiliates and poker players alike could be getting a nasty tax bill

Swedish media reports and blogs are increasingly carrying news of a Swedish crackdown on alleged tax evasion by online gambling players and marketing affiliates that could reach a total figure as high as Euro 45 million.

The Swedish tax authorities, or Skatteverket, together with the National Economic Crimes Bureau and the Swedish Gaming Board have for some months been investigating online gaming in the Scandinavian country, infamous for its state monopoly on gambling, and have already asked several major companies to provide information.

It appears that this investigation has now been extended to embrace Swedish online players and affiliates, too with tax evasion figures of Euro 27.3 million and Euro 5 million currently owing from online gambling affiliates and players respectively. All of those identified are understood to be resident in and operating from Swedish soil, and could be liable for tax rates as high as 57 percent and draconian penalties.

In late November last year the Skatteverket claimed that online poker site Multipoker.com owed SEK40 million or Euro 4.3 million in unpaid taxes as part of the government's ongoing investigation into online gaming in Sweden.

Information being exchanged on blogs and in the media suggests that Swedish investigators use Xenon web crawler technology to search and identify suspicious websites for further enquiry, and that tax authorities collaborate internationally in probes of this nature. It is understood that Swedish internet infrastructure and domain providers have also been approached for confidential information, including those handling online poker clients.

The Swedish government is currently in the sights of the European Commission for its monopolistic and discriminatory policies regarding online gambling, which exclude companies from fellow EU nations from entering the lucrative and State dominated Swedish gambling market.

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Swedish Media Get Their Day In Court

Thursday, February 07, 2008 mgowanbo.cc

State gambling monopoly row spills over into the media

Aggressive attempts to protect the Swedish state gambling monopoly by interfering in newspaper advertising initiatives will soon see objections by leading Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen being heard in the country's Court of Appeal following a ruling by the Supreme Court.

The issue surfaced in public last month following an open and well publicised letter from the editors of the publications concerned which urged European Commissioner for compliance Charlie McCreevy to take action against the state gambling monopoly.

The editors claimed that Swedish non-compliance with the EU principle of free movement of trade and services between EU member nations had resulted in state interference and obstacles to legitimate online gambling advertisements in their newspapers.

Sweden is already under the European Commission microscope over its protectionist gambling policies, with the compliance authorities steadily ratcheting up the pressure for a more open gambling industry vis-a-vis companies in other EU member nations.