Spelinspektionen backs expansion of Swedish marketing penalty fees

The Swedish Gambling Inspectorate (Spelinspektionen) has agreed with the outcomes of an inquiry into consumer protection, which outlined the need for an expansion of the country's “marketing disruption fee” laws.

The regulator issued a consultation response today (18 June), after the country’s government submitted a series of potential reforms in a report, titled “Modernized Consumer Protection”, intended to strengthen consumer protection.

This report included a suggestion that marketing disruption fees – a form of penalty for certain violations of the Marketing Act (MFL) – be expanded to cover more violations.

Currently, the penalty applies only for infringing section 7 of the MFL, which deals specifically with “coercive” marketing.

However, the report said it should be extended to violations of sections 5 and 6, which would include fees for infractions of good marketing practices” if the marketing violation “appreciably affects or probably affects the recipient’s ability to make a well-founded transaction decision”.

This change was something the regulator said it supporter.

“The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate is positive about the inquiry’s proposal that the opportunity to decide on issuing a market disruption fee, according to section 29 of the MFL, shall be extended include violations of Sections 5 and 6 of the MFL,” read the response.

The inquiry into consumer protection suggested that the maximum fine should be 4% of an operator’s annual turnover. Spelinspektionen said it supported this was well.

Original Article