Mr Viral
Sweden’s gambling regulator, the Spelinspektionen, has denied recent claims of data leaking from the country’s national self-exclusion scheme. This statement was issued as a response to recent rumors about an alleged data breach.
A Documentary Implied the Self-Exclusion Scheme Had Been Breached
On January 7, the P1 documentary Kasinoläkkan was aired, examining Europe’s overall casino sector. The documentary was produced with the help of investigative journalists from a number of European countries, including Sweden.
Among other things, the documentary highlighted the illegal gambling problems Sweden is facing. More importantly, however, the documentary mentioned an alleged data breach of Spelpaus, Sweden’s national self-exclusion register.
Launched in 2019, Spelpaus seeks to provide local players with the opportunity to exclude themselves from gambling and avoid overspending on bets. Since the launch of regulated gaming, Spelpaus has been a trusty companion to riskier players who do not wish to be tempted to play.
The claims in the documentary implied that sensitive customer data might have been leaked. If true, this could be a problem, considering that the scheme has recorded some 120,000 registrations since its launch.
The Spelinspektionen rejected the claims, saying that it has so far detected no data breaches to Spelpaus.se and has no information to suggest leaks from the register. The regulatory body added that all information within the register is encrypted.
In addition to that, the Spelinspektionen pointed out that the register contains no information about the self-excluded players’ addresses or phone numbers. It added that the scheme doesn’t even have information about whether a self-excluded player is a problem gambler or not.
There Are Some Issues
However, this doesn’t mean that there are not certain issues with the self-exclusion scheme. In its official release, the Spelinspektionen added that some self-excluded players have still been targeted by offshore companies that lack a gambling license.
While all Spelinspektionen licensees are prohibited from targeting excluded players with their products, this hasn’t stopped their offshore counterparts from trying.
The Swedish regulator added that it will continue to review risks in the operations of Spelpaus and will continue to consider the current global gaming landscape.
The Spelinspektionen’s Efforts to Protect the Market Continue
In other news, the Swedish regulator recently took action against Odds BV, a Curacao-based company, which was accused of violating the local gaming rules. The regulator claimed that the operator’s fortunepanda website had offered unlicensed gambling to local players.
The regulatory action aligned with the authority’s efforts to promote licensed operators. In December, the Spelinspektionen launched a campaign called Unnecessarily Exciting, which featured animated videos to raise awareness about the importance of choosing licensed gambling operators.
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