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Sweden’s government proposes increased gambling tax

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Sweden’s government has today Wednesday proposed an increase in the gambling tax, from 18 percent of GGR to 22 percent of GGR. The reason, according to the government, is that the gambling market should have stabilized since the reregulation in 2019 and that channelization is said to be high.

BOS Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt comments:

The announcement from the government is deeply disappointing, above all because it shows that the government does not understand or has taken to heart what kind of market it is set to govern. Even less has the government understood the vulnerable position that market is in.

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We were recently able to show that channelization in the Swedish gambling market is 77 percent. Some gambling verticals, including online casino, are as low as 72 percent. The trend is also declining, in other words the channeling decreases over time.

We are already far from the state’s goal of at least 90 percent channelization, and if this tax increase is approved by the Riksdag, we will soon be down to the channelization we had before Sweden reregulated its gambling market in 2019. A reregulation that took place because Sweden had such a low channelization at the time.

Sweden’s government must perform much better than this. There is still time to withdraw the proposal, concludes Gustaf Hoffstedt.

The government’s proposal can be found in Swedish on pages 289-290 here: https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/e1afccd2ec7e42f6af3b651091df139c/forslag-till-statens-budget-for-2024-finansplan-och-skattefragor-kapitel-1-12- appendices-1-9.pdf

Below a Google translation of the same text:

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Increased gaming tax

The government’s assessment: The excise tax on gambling should be increased from 18 to 22 percent of the balance for each tax period.

The upcoming proposal should enter into force on 1 July 2024.

The reasons for the government’s assessment: One of the purposes of today’s gambling regulation is to protect the surplus from gambling activities for the general public by contributing to the financing of government activities. With the exception of gambling that is reserved for public benefit purposes, licensed gambling is taxed according to the Act (2018:1139) on tax on gambling. According to this law, excise duty is levied at 18 percent of the balance for each tax period. The balance is made up of the difference between the total stakes and the total payouts. A taxation period consists of one calendar month.

An increase in the tax on gambling should be well balanced to avoid a major negative impact on the proportion of gambling that takes place at the companies that have a license for gambling in Sweden. From the bill A reregulated gambling market it appears that a tax of just over 20 percent can be considered compatible with an aim to achieve a channelization rate of at least 90 percent (prop. 2017/18:220 p. 258). In that bill, however, a lower tax level was proposed for precautionary reasons. The current tax rate of 18 percent has applied since the Swedish gambling market was reregulated in 2019. The gambling market has since stabilized and channelization has increased significantly. In addition, measures have been taken to exclude unlicensed gambling from the Swedish market, which came into effect 1 July 2023 (prop. 2022/23:33). The reasons for caution when setting the tax level should therefore not be as strong now as during the re-regulation. An increase from 18 to 22 percent is judged to be at a suitable level to strengthen the financing of government activities, without it leading to too great an impact on the companies and the size of the tax base. The excise tax on gambling should therefore be increased from 18 to 22 percent.

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The upcoming proposal should enter into force on 1 July 2024. The government intends to return to the Riksdag in the spring of 2024 with a proposal according to the above. The upcoming proposal is estimated to increase tax revenue by SEK 0.27 billion in 2024 (half-year effect) and thereafter by SEK 0.54 billion per year.

Compliance Updates

Vixio Launches Vixio Workspace: A Transformative Regulatory Management Tool

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New Tool Turns Vixio’s Regulatory Intelligence Into Auditable, Actionable Steps

Vixio, a leading provider of regulatory intelligence solutions, is excited to announce the launch of Vixio Workspace, a new regulatory management tool designed by compliance professionals, for compliance professionals. Vixio Workspace introduces a new intuitive workflow capability into Vixio’s regulatory intelligence platform, helping to transform Vixio’s world-class regulatory intelligence into actionable steps.

Compliance teams currently face multiple challenges when managing actions from regulatory change. Hours are spent juggling multiple disparate systems, from spreadsheets to emails and project management tools. This can cause errors and team misalignment between already siloed departments, meaning teams may miss actions or critical regulatory updates.

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The average compliance professional spends 70% of their time, and in some sectors up to 95% of their time, on reactionary administrative tasks rather than strategic guidance. Furthermore, with 85% of compliance leaders reporting that compliance requirements have become more complex in the past three years, and 77% reporting that compliance complexity has negatively affected company growth drivers, now, more than ever, compliance teams need a solution to bring calm to the chaos of compliance complexity.

Vixio Workspace aims to address the challenges faced by compliance teams by fusing regulatory intelligence and workflow capability together, which means teams will never miss action items from critical regulatory updates.

“After two decades of providing comprehensive regulatory intelligence, we’re excited to add to Vixio’s core offering by turning that intelligence into action,” Mike Woolfrey, CEO of Vixio, said, “We’ve spent hours listening to our customers’ compliance challenges and designed Vixio Workspace so that users can see global regulatory updates, track their progress to implementation, and document everything for easier attestation, rather than using siloed systems that can slow that process down. With Vixio Workspace, complexity in compliance doesn’t have to mean complicated.” 

Vixio Workspace’s streamlined platform combines regulatory intelligence with task management, eliminating the need for cumbersome copy/paste processes and tracking with spreadsheets. Furthermore, unlike other compliance SaaS software, Vixio Workspace doesn’t require any IT integration, allowing instantaneous adoption.

This new feature is available now and enhances Vixio’s existing RegTech platform, which provides essential regulatory intelligence to navigate the complex regulatory landscape.

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Key features of Vixio Workspace include:

  • World-class regulatory intelligence: Regulatory intelligence with unparalleled precision – precision is achieved through AI capability and a global team of expert regulatory analysts
  • Checklists: Use checklists, integrated with precision-driven regulatory intelligence, as a single source of truth to action and track compliance initiatives
  • Real-time dashboard: A single panoramic view of everything in one place, and real-time status of tasks and projects
  • Task management: Create and allocate tasks in seconds with the ability to manage compliance team priorities
  • Real-time data: This can be used for risk/compliance committees and meetings
  • Attestation: A single repository to capture attestation across the business for multiple compliance use cases
  • Chat function: Speeds up communication within compliance teams and the wider business
  • User management: Role-based user management and permissions for security and audibility
  • Audit trail: A digital audit trail which tracks discussions between collaborators and minimises the need for confusing email trails
  • Easy file uploads: Use for evidence submission and Vixio Workspace as a single repository for supporting documents

Vixio will host an official launch event for Vixio Workspace at The Haymarket Hotel in London on April 29th at 3 PM, where attendees will be among the first to see the tool in action.

Today’s launch underscores Vixio’s commitment to collaborating with clients to implement innovative solutions that address pressing compliance challenges.

The post Vixio Launches Vixio Workspace: A Transformative Regulatory Management Tool appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Association of Gaming Operators in Kenya Announces New Regulations

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The Association of Gaming Operators in Kenya (AGOK) in partnership with government agencies, regulators and civil society are spearheading a set of proactive initiatives designed to shape the future of the gaming industry and protect innocent Kenyans from addiction to gaming.

In a press release, the Association says nationwide awareness campaigns promoting informed, mindful participation in gaming will be carried out across the country.

Advocacy for tools such as time-out mechanisms, betting and deposit limits will be put in place to ensure a healthy and controlled gaming behaviour among Kenyans.

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“The gaming industry in Kenya continues to evolve rapidly, creating opportunities for economic growth, digital innovation, and employment. However, with this growth comes a heightened responsibility to safeguard the welfare of players, particularly young people and vulnerable populations,” the statement by AGOK’s board reads in part.

“AGOK acknowledges the complex challenges associated with gaming, particularly around mental health, addiction prevention, and ethical standards. These are global concerns which members of AGOK take seriously. They are at the forefront of our agenda.”

The Association furthers contends that all its members operate under a “shared code of conduct” rooted in principles of fairness, transparency and social responsibility.

Among meaningful steps it says it has taken to prevent exploitation and minimise harm include putting into place advanced age-verification systems to block underage access, self exclusion tools that provide options for and permanent restrictions to gaming activities and round-the clock toll free helplines that offer confidential mental health and addiction support.

The regulatory measures comes amid calls to regulate the sector following increase in cases of mental health and some suicide cases attributed to betting.

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Compliance Updates

Sumsub Maintains Compliance with iBeta Standards

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Sumsub announced that its Liveness solution has successfully passed iBeta Quality Assurance testing in line with the ISO/IEC 30107-3 standard. The evaluation, conducted on both Android and iOS platforms, confirms the solution’s compliance with Level 2 of the Biometric Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) Standard—the solution showed zero mistakes during testing, validating Sumsub’s technology as capable of resisting sophisticated spoofing attempts.

Sumsub’s Liveness solution is designed to detect deepfakes and prevent biometric fraud using advanced in-house AI models. With deepfakes growing 4x year-over-year and now accounting for 7% of all fraud cases, according to the company’s 2024 Identity Fraud Report, robust anti-spoofing technology is critical for safeguarding businesses and users alike. By integrating AI-driven detection tools, Sumsub helps organizations stay ahead of emerging threats and maintain trust throughout the user verification process.

“iBeta Level 2 testing reflects our commitment to trust, quality, and staying ahead of fraud trends. The industry is facing a rise in attack sophistication and scale, and it’s essential that our solutions continue meeting the highest standards. Routine third-party testing like this ensures we’re prepared for these evolving threats,” Vyacheslav Zholudev, CTO and co-founder of Sumsub, said.

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The post Sumsub Maintains Compliance with iBeta Standards appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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