Spelinspektionen, the national gambling regulator in Sweden, has rejected claims of a data breach in its Spelpaus, insisting there is no evidence that information is “leaking” from the country’s self-exclusion register.
Aired on Sveriges Radio channel P1 on 7 January, the ‘Kasinoläckan’ documentary series examines Europe’s casino industry. It features a six-month collaboration between investigative journalists across gambling markets in several countries, including Sweden.
The series begins by looking at several issues within the market, including consumers in Sweden having access to gamble on illegal offshore online casino websites.
Also flagged in the documentary is a supposed data breach of Spelpaus. The regulator’s national self-exclusion scheme launched in January 2019 to accompany the roll out of legal online gambling in the country.
Spelinspektionen has today (10 January) hit back at these claims, rejecting the claims that information had been leaked from Spelpaus to the public. It said there has been no evidence of such an incident.
“All information in the register is encrypted,” Spelinspektionen said in a statement. “There is no information about whether the person who has excluded themselves is addicted to gambling or not. The register does not contain any information on addresses or telephone numbers of those who have excluded themselves.”
Regulator working to address Spelpaus issues
Spelinspektionen, however, did admit to some potential issues with Spelpaus.
Since spring last year, the regulator has been investigating why some consumers who have registered with Spelpaus are still receiving gambling-related marketing. This mainly relates to operators without a Swedish licence, as the communications are focused on players’ exclusion from legal play.
“We continuously review risks in the operations, of which Spelpaus is a part, not least in light of the current global situation,” Spelinspektionen said.
The regulator also clarified the rules for Spelpaus. Swedish law requires all operators with a local licence to integrate the register into their offerings. The option to sign up must be made clear to all consumers and licensees must honour this exclusion.
Players have the option to exclude for several set periods. These include one-, three- and six-month breaks, while users can also opt to block themselves for 12 months or more.
Since launching six years ago, over 120,000 people in Sweden have registered with Spelpaus.
