Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority, has objected to parts of the government’s plan to rewrite Sweden’s AML law, warning that the proposals would cost it an enforcement tool and stretch its supervision before EU rules apply on 10 July 2027.
The regulator set out its position in a consultation response published on 27 October to the Ministry of Finance’s memorandum on the EU anti-money laundering package (Fi2026/01654), published in July. The memorandum proposes how Swedish law should adapt to the EU’s new AML regulation and the authority it created, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).
Spelinspektionen said it broadly supports the proposals. It opposes two of them and called several provisions unclear. The response was adopted by the authority’s board and signed by Director-General Peter Knutsson.
Spelinspektionen’s objections to Sweden’s AML law plan
The main objection concerns information orders. The memorandum says supervisors should not be able to attach a conditional fine (vite) to an order requiring a company to hand over information and documents needed for an inspection. It points to sanction fees and other administrative measures as the alternative.
Spelinspektionen said the two tools do different jobs. A conditional fine is meant to make the company “actually provide the material needed for supervision”, the authority wrote, and without that material a supervisor “cannot assess whether the business complies with the anti-money laundering rules” (translated from Swedish).
Under chapter 19, section 16 of the Gambling Act, Spelinspektionen can already charge licensees a late-delivery fee, but that power covers information requested under the Gambling Act only. The regulator said it would have no equivalent option in AML cases unless conditional fines are allowed.
The second objection concerns registration lotteries. The memorandum would make Spelinspektionen vet the suitability of their organisers and supervise them. The authority said municipalities, which already decide those applications under the Gambling Act, should keep the role. It added that applicants, often small non-profit associations, would otherwise deal with two authorities.
Sanction fee ceiling
Spelinspektionen backed the proposal to let sanction fees for gambling companies reach 10% of turnover. It noted that AMLA’s draft technical standard sets a minimum range of 0.4% to 0.8% of turnover for the most serious breaches, and questioned whether it would in practice be able to impose fees close to the 10% ceiling.
The regulator also flagged overlapping deadlines. The proposed AML law requires companies to report changes in management or beneficial owners “as soon as possible”, while the Gambling Act gives licensees 14 days. Spelinspektionen said the 14-day period is reasonable and asked for it to count as compliance with both rules.
It asked for more precise rules on which authority supervises non-financial holding companies that own gambling operators active in several countries, and for a transitional provision so that existing AML exemptions for some gambling services keep applying after 10 July 2027.
Funding request
Spelinspektionen estimated it needs SEK 5m in one-off funding in 2027, including SEK 2m for IT, and SEK 3m a year from 2028 for IT maintenance and 2 extra staff in coordination and supervision. It said the memorandum underestimates the work required by AMLA’s standards and guidelines.
Without the money, the regulator said it would move staff from other tasks and put licensing ahead of supervision, including supervision of the Gambling Act and of illegal gambling. It cited a 2024 report by the Swedish National Audit Office (RiR 2024:19), which found its supervision not effective enough, mainly because it carried out too few inspections.
Recent decisions by the regulator include its ban on Duel.com’s operator, and more are listed on the Spelinspektionen tag page.
Next steps
The consultation responses now go back to the Ministry of Finance, which drafted the memorandum. Until 10 July 2027, Spelinspektionen supervises gambling companies under the current AML law; from that date, the EU regulation, the new Swedish law and AMLA’s technical standards apply.
Source: Spelinspektionen
