Sweden rolls out licensing requirements

The Swedish Gambling Authority has formally issued its main guidelines and requirements in wake of the upcoming regulatory and licensing changes scheduled for January 1st 2019. Any interested parties can find critical information on technical regulations and general advice on the accreditation of bodies to inspect, test, and certify gambling operations as well as projected licensee applicants. As per Lotteriinspektionen: Description of the performance requirements that shall apply to gambling operations. A gambling licence, according to the proposal from the Gambling Licence Commission, shall be accessible and open to both Swedish and foreign gambling companies.

The performance requirements cover, among other things, the registration of customers, customers’ player accounts, how such accounts shall be managed in terms of activation, exclusion, balances, and what information is to be stored, such as how long a customer has played, winnings and losses, etc. Requirements on licensing, storage of information concerning the gambling company, as well as how different gambling systems are to be registered, how gambling systems shall be inspected, what information shall be stored. How stored information shall be reported to the supervisory authority and how the gambling company shall store and provide information in order to counter money laundering and terrorist financing. Entry into force rules.

Control - Testing - Certification

The applicant for a license shall apply to an accredited body for inspection, testing and certification.

Control, testing and certification pursuant to the first paragraph shall be performed by the person accredited for the tasks under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on accreditation and market surveillance requirements in accordance with Chapter 16, Section 3, of the Game Act. with the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93.

Control, testing and certification may also be carried out by other bodies accredited for the performance of an accrediting body party to an agreement that the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (Swedac) has entered into mutual recognition of accreditation for such testing activities and has successfully reviewed the referral assessment under the agreement. Provisions for accreditation under the first and second paragraphs of Swedac are contained in the Accreditation and Technical Control Act (2011: 791).

The game company shall send documentation for the performance of the inspection, testing and certification in the form of a report to the Game Authority. The report clearly sets out the evaluation methods used in the control, testing and certification processes.

In order to ensure that the accredited body complies with all the requirements of Chapter 3, shall issue certificates and other documentation for the activity attached. The licensee is responsible for renewing his inspection, testing and certification protocols in accordance with these regulations at least every twelve months.

The licensee shall ensure that important information is available against physical and logical intrusion and other external influences and ensures that information is available when required.

Games and business systems shall be provided with technical and administrative measures for the identification of the user, authentication of the foregoing identity, user’s rights to the systems, and registration of the user’s activities. All access to gaming and business systems must be recorded.
Code, password or equivalent to game and business systems are personal and may not be displayed or disclosed to others and shall be given a security cover that corresponds to the level that the information may provide.

Game and business systems shall be backed up at least daily. It should be ensured that the systems can be recreated from the time of the latest backup to the time of a possible interruption.

The licensee shall conduct a risk and vulnerability analysis and systematically identify and document the gaming and business information assets in a list. At the same time, the dependence of other businesses on their own activities will be taken into account. Choice of risk and vulnerability analysis methodology shall be documented.

Activation and deactivation of games

A licensee shall be able to enable or disable each game without delay; either one or more games individually or all at once. The licensee must be able to enable or disable a single player’s game without delay. Actions under the first and second paragraphs shall be recorded and documented.  For example, a game can be deactivated by temporarily hiding if the licensee detects errors in the game or for an individual player.

A game that is deactivated should be able to be played successfully. A multi-step game that is deactivated should be ready to play at the next login. If it is not possible to play in accordance with the first and second paragraphs, the game system will inform the player.

Discontinued games

Discontinued games shall be able to be completed unless otherwise stated in the rules of the game. An interrupted game will be displayed together with a bet made by a player when the game system is reconnected. The bet referred to in the second paragraph shall be kept separate and shall be recorded separately in the player’s game account until it has been completed.  A game may be considered interrupted, for example, if the game system loses the connection to the player’s equipment, the game system or player’s equipment restarts, abnormal shutdown of game systems. A game can be considered canceled if a match has not been completed or a race has been set.

If an interrupted game is not completed within 90 days, it shall be terminated. It should be clear from the rules of game what happens to a player’s bet if a game ends without it being completed.

Error Handling

For games there shall be documented procedures for handling errors and deficiencies. It should be clear from the rules of the game what the player is about the player in case of defects or deficiencies. It must be ensured that an interrupted game or error and failure otherwise does not affect a player’s game account or game balance negatively.
In case a player can not play a game due to errors or deficiencies, there must be a function that calculates how much to pay to a player.

The value of a winning pot should not be affected by errors or deficiencies. The game system should be able to generate reports for all registered players, players’ account information and date of registration. The game system is capable of generating reports with all players who have closed their games 24 hours, for a certain period of time, or closed from games for the time being in accordance with Chapter 14. Section 12 of the Act.

The game system should be able to generate reports with all players who limit their limit in time, bet or deposits to game accounts. The game system should also be able to generate reports with number of players who lowered or raised their limit in time, bet or deposits to game accounts.

The game system should be able to generate reports regarding inactive game accounts. The game system should be able to generate reports for all game accounts completed. A report according to the first paragraph should be able to show why a game account has been terminated. A report in accordance with the first paragraph shall be able to show if a game account has been terminated by the player or by the licensee. The game system should be able to generate reports for game accounts with a positive balance that has been completed for more than five business days. The game system should be able to generate a report for each game account.

A report could contain the following information:

• balance
• deposit
• efforts
• wins
• socket

A game system shall record a single player’s entire game session.

The following may be included in one or more reports in the first paragraph:

1. Player ID
2. Time when the game session has begun and ended
3. Player’s equipment
4. Total bet during the game session
5. Total paid win during the game session
6. Total deposit on game account during game session (time-registered)
7. Total withdrawal from game account during game session (time-registered)
8. Date of last confirmation during the game session,Reasons for ending a game session
9. Identification of games and version of games played during the game session

“Possible outcome” refers to situations where there is a possibility of a unique outcome not directly reflected in the relevant profit plan, eg a football match where a game can refer to 1X2.

Licensee obligations

Registration can be done by inserting a box of PEP into the player register and listing it yes or no. All logins in a game account and any attempted login must be registered. There must be a feature in the game system to detect if someone without permission tries to log in to a player’s game account. If any unauthorized person has attempted to enter a player’s game account, the player should be informed immediately and subsequently in accordance with the licensee’s agreement with the player.

Notice that someone unauthorized attempts to enter a player’s game account can be done as the licensee considers most appropriate at the time, for example by text, email, login information.

A player’s identity, date and time shall be recorded at each login and logout. When a player logs into the game system, his last time and date logon will be available to the player. The game system shall have a function and documented procedures for the safe replacement of the authorization code. The licensee shall not be able to unilaterally change a player’s eligibility code.

If required, a one-time code can be sent to the player’s registered e-mail address or registered mobile number.

The game system shall have a function to handle and record all financial transactions to and from a gaming account in accordance with Chapter 13. Section 3 of the Act. When depositing funds in a game account, the license holder shall ensure that the holder of the issued bank card / bank account or other payment service is the same as the holder of the game account. The first paragraph also applies if the player changes a bank card, bank account or other payment service.

Security can be done by bank ID or similar.

A player shall be able to see his balance in the game account immediately after each transaction performed. There must be a function which, in accordance with Chapter 13, Section 3, Paragraph 1, of the Games Act, shows the player which games he participated in, all contributions made and all winnings paid.

Deposit, loss and signed-in time limits

For online games, there shall be a function where the player can easily indicate the amount of deposits that can be distributed by day, week and month. The licensee shall ensure that a player who has not specified the size of deposit under the first paragraph may not play. The amount can also be 0 kronor.

For online games there must be a function where the player can easily limit his login time. There must be a feature that, during the login time, allows the player to display warnings on winnings and losses as well as information about how long the player has been logged in. Only the player himself may be able to determine the limitations in sections 10 and 11.

Self exclusion

The game system shall have a feature that allows a player to turn off games for a certain period of time or until further notice. The game system shall have a function that checks whether a player has turned off games or restricted his playing time every time a player registers or logs into the game system. The licensee shall ensure that a player who has chosen to turn off games is not allowed to play for the specified time. The licensee shall have a feature that can receive data about the Player Shutdown Registry for players who have turned off games or restricted their playing time sent from the Game Authority at times determined by the Authority.

Started game

In game play, the gaming system shall have a function and documented procedures that prevent an action from being added after the licensee’s determined opportunity for drawing or event for a future result has been started. When applicable, betting may take place during an ongoing match or the like, such as what team that will do the next goal or match player.

Functionality Requirements for Online Games and Betting

Game Design: Games with interactive choices shall have illustrations that clearly show current and possible actions. Games according to the first paragraph shall clearly show the possibility of changing or restoring the current bet.

The licensee shall ensure that each game round lasts at least three seconds. The first paragraph also applies to an autoplay feature.

There must be a function that ensures that a player’s participation in a game and the choices made by the player in the game system are based on volunteering. A player should have a reasonable time to consider the consequences of a choice. Repeat choices made by a player in the game system should not end in order to be performed. Choices that can be made include purchase, pay, “spin”, “play”, “team”, “draw”, “double”.

Visual presentation

The licensee shall ensure that the name of the game is displayed on all pages that belong to the current game. The game system must have a function that continuously shows the player how long it has been logged in. The license holder shall ensure that the player’s balance is continuously displayed to the player throughout the game session. A game’s bet shall be clearly displayed. The player’s possible bet and actual bet, as well as the minimum bet and the maximum bet, should be shown clearly. The licensee shall ensure that the player’s bet including the total bet in the game is clearly visible.

A game system shall record and be able to generate one or more reports regarding events in the game system.

The following information may be included in a report under the first paragraph:

• Comprehensive winnings
• Large transfers of funds
• Changed conditions for gaming
• Changed conditions for winning pot
• Newly established winning pot
• Player’s participation in winning pot
• Payout of win pot
• Interrupted game with winning pot

A game system shall record and be able to generate individual and aggregated reports of one or more of the licensee’s game passes. The following information may be included in a report under the first paragraph:

• The game name and race number
• Date
• The start of the game
• The end of the game round
• Total turnover
• Νumber of efforts
• Licensee’s efforts
• Financing of a winning pot
• A prize pool value before game start
• A winning pot worth at the end of the game
• Possible outcome
• Real outcome
• Total number of winnings
• Τotal number of winners
• Νumber of winners per level
• Νumber of rights
• Total dividend
• Number of players who did not complete the game round and the reason why they did not finish

“Possible outcome” refers to situations where there is a possibility of a unique outcome not directly reflected in the relevant profit plan, eg a football match where a game can refer to 1X2.

Entry into force and transitional provisions

These regulations and general councils are scheduled to come into force on 01/01/2019 but may apply for license applications within 2018.