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Evolution Gaming Continues to Face Opposition in Sweden
By Shane Addinall Dec 29, 2021 IndustryDespite being a popular game provider in Sweden, Evolution Gaming is facing ongoing resistance from Svenska Spel and other bodies over allegations of black-market casino collaborations.A recent story by Swedish financial newspaper Dagens Industri exposed the fact that live casino provider Evolution Gaming has been collaborating with blacklisted gambling sites.
The reason this information came as such a shock is that Evolution is a licensed casino game provider in Sweden and as part of that agreement should be distancing itself from any operators who are illegally targeting local players.
Svenska Spel Vents Its Frustration
The state-owned Swedish gambling operator Svenska Spel has openly criticised Evolution Gaming for its alleged continued association with 30 black-market casinos and betting sites.
Svenska Spel CEO Fredrik Wastenson said:
"We strongly dissociate ourselves from all activities that violate the Swedish gaming market regulation and have also pointed out to Evolution the inappropriateness of offering their range to operators without a license in Sweden."
The concerns are that not only does Evolution’s continued support add validity to these unlicensed offshore operations, but it could actively undermine Sweden’s comprehensive anti-money laundering and safer gambling programs.
Unscrupulous black-market operators can target Swedish players who associate Evolution Gaming with approved operators and convince them that there is no difference gambling with them as with a licensed site.
This leaves Swedish players with none of the protections that licensed venues offer. It could also see at-risk players who are self-excluded in Sweden from receiving marketing materials and incentives to overspend, triggering their problem behaviours.
An Ongoing Pattern of Behaviour
Evolution Gaming IR manager, Carl Linton, went on record saying:
“If it turns out that our games are playable on any of the sites listed by the Swedish gaming inspectorate, we will of course address this urgently.”
However, industry experts are not easily swayed, pointing out that this is not the first time Evolution has been brought to task over its connections to underground gambling sites.
A report received by the US-based New Jersey gaming authority reported that Evolution Gaming had long-standing relationships with Curaçao casinos. These casinos were reported to operate in unregulated markets, even those specifically those under sanctions.
The news rocked the online gambling industry and caused a nearly 40% drop in the share price of Evolution AB at the stock market. The shares struggled for nearly three months before finally managing to recover in recent weeks.
Time To Up Their Game
As part of their investigation into these allegations brought forward by the Dagens Industri story, the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate attempted to access Evolution games at 30 unsanctioned websites owned and operated by 6 online gambling groups.
Unfortunately, they found it to be a relatively simple process of using a Swedish VPN and fabricated local details to play Evolution titles for real money despite the sites being banned by the gambling authority.
Marcus Aronsson, investigator at the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate said:
“The idea of our bans is to make it more difficult for the unlicensed operators to conduct their business. We want to make it clear to payment service providers or software providers that they should withdraw their services from the sites, in order to make them less attractive to players."
Despite their assurances that they are working on blocking these sites and making it impossible to access their casino titles outside of Sweden Evolution Gaming will have to prove to both customers and the Inspectorate that it is not merely lip service aimed at dodging the proverbial bullet.
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