Compliance Updates
Sweden’s Konsumentverket Publishes Report on Loot Boxes and Other Gambling-like Features in Games
The Swedish Consumer Agency Konsumentverket (KO) has published a report on loot boxes and other gambling-like features in games.
The report states that loot boxes or other gambling-like features in games could be regulated under the Swedish Gambling Act (2018) when prizes from in-game features constitute money or money’s worth.
If the in-game features have a monetary value from being able to be traded for money or money’s worth, then there is a real risk that loot boxes or other gambling-like features in games could constitute gambling and, therefore, would require a licence.
The Swedish courts have yet to decide whether loot boxes and other gambling-like features in games fall under the Swedish Gambling Act or not. If they would be considered to fall under the act the KO deems the act to provide wide protection for consumers.
The report shows that there is not, at this point in time, sufficient research to be able to establish a connection between loot boxes and gambling. The KO cannot motivate or recommend any further measures to be taken due to the lack of sufficient research. However, the KO still encourages the gaming industry to continue its self-regulation.
Despite the lack of sufficient research, the KO deems there to be grounds for further investigation with regard to children and adolescents, which is considered to be a particularly vulnerable group of consumers. For this reason, the KO believes that further regulation could be justified, if supported by research, in order to protect the wellbeing of children and adolescents.
The report is perhaps the first step in the process of adjusting Swedish consumer regulation to the risks posed by the blurring of lines between gaming and gambling.
The Ukrainian gambling regulator, PlayCity, has rolled out a new digital complaints platform that’s intended to streamline how the public can report illegal gambling advertisements. The complaints form is now live in the “For Citizens” section of PlayCity’s website, giving Ukrainian citizens a direct channel to help monitor and curb illegal gambling advertising.
The system enables citizens to flag suspected violations across multiple formats, including social media, websites, television, radio, outdoor billboards and other public spaces. Users submitting a complaint must identify the platform type, provide a direct link to the advertisement and attach supporting evidence such as screenshots or video clips.
The system is designed to automatically archive submissions and capture ephemeral content like social media “stories” so regulators can review material even after it disappears. PlayCity staff will screen each complaint to assess whether the content breaches Ukraine’s advertising rules.
If violations are confirmed, the regulator can request removal of content from platforms such as Meta, Google, TikTok, YouTube, Viber and Twitch. PlayCity said it could also seek to block social media accounts that repeatedly share unlawful gambling promotions, fine responsible parties or escalate cases to law enforcement when identities cannot be verified.
The statutory fine for illegal gambling advertising stands at cca. €100,900.
The new enforcement framework stems from Law No.9526d, the same legislation that abolished the previous gambling regulator KRAIL.
The post Ukrainian Gambling Regulator Rolls Out Digital Complaints Platform appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Armenian Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs
Armenia to Implement Strictest Gambling Regulations to Combat a Massive Surge in Addiction
At its meeting on last Wednesday, the Armenian Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs postponed the first reading of amendments to the Law “On Regulation of Gambling Activities” and several related laws until the next meeting for further revision.
Hayk Sargsyan, the author of the legislative initiative and a member of parliament from the ruling Civil Contract faction, stated that the volume of online casino bets in Armenia has increased more than 35-fold over the past eight years.
“While in 2017, the volume of online casino bets was 0.2 trillion drams, in 2025, it will increase more than 35-fold, reaching 7.4 trillion drams. Online casinos have become a scourge and a plague for our people,” Sargsyan said.
According to him, hundreds of thousands of citizens are wasting their money on gambling addiction. Regardless of their location, they have 24/7 access to online casinos and are unable to break their addiction.
“In an attempt to recoup their money, citizens are accumulating debts and loans, thereby further worsening an already critical situation. Under the current circumstances, the National Assembly is obliged to take preventive measures aimed at maximally restricting participation in online casinos for individuals who no longer want to gamble but are unable to overcome their addiction, as well as those in dire social situations or those using government support programs,” Sargsyan said.
The bill proposes establishing a mandatory requirement: all online casinos must place a publicly accessible self-blocking button on their websites and apps.
“After clicking this button, playing at online casinos will be prohibited for a period of five years, with no possibility of early reinstatement. After this period, the ban is automatically extended for another five years unless the citizen submits an application to lift the restriction five days before its expiration. Information about the self-ban will be communicated to the gaming operator. Activity in other online casinos and gaming platforms will also be suspended,” Sargsyan said.
He also stated the need to prohibit participation in online gaming for recipients of social benefits, individuals whose primary source of income is a pension, individuals in bankruptcy proceedings and participants in subsidy programmes implemented with funding or co-financing from the state budget. Furthermore, it is proposed to set a limit on participation in online gaming at 20% of annually declared income.
Government representatives approved amendments that are planned to come into effect on January 1, 2027, following the introduction of the gaming operator institution, which will likely be selected mid-year and implemented as soon as possible.
The post Armenia to Implement Strictest Gambling Regulations to Combat a Massive Surge in Addiction appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it is suing Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket, Crypto.com, and their affiliates, to halt their alleged facilitation of illegal sports betting, a form of unlawful commercial gambling, in Wisconsin.
“Thinly disguising unlawful conduct doesn’t make it lawful. These companies’ alleged facilitation of sports betting in Wisconsin should be shut down,” said AG Kaul.
Except in limited circumstances, sports betting and other forms of commercial gambling have long been illegal in Wisconsin. Yet, as alleged in these lawsuits, the defendant companies have chosen to flout Wisconsin law through disguising the sports betting they facilitate on their online platforms as “event contracts,” which pay out just like ordinary bets based on the odds of sports-related outcomes.
The complaints further allege that the companies collect a fee for every bet made, meaning they generate revenue from Wisconsinites by violating the state’s gambling laws. Kalshi, as one example, reportedly generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue from its sports contracts, representing around 90% of its total estimated annualized revenue.
As the complaints allege, by making money from the sports bets they facilitate, these companies are engaging in unlawful gambling activity.
Wisconsin DOJ’s lawsuits, filed on last Thursday in Dane County, request a declaration that, by making sports-related event contracts available for trading by customers located in Wisconsin, the defendant companies are violating Wis. Stat.§945.03(1m) and thereby creating a public nuisance. The lawsuits additionally request preliminary and permanent injunctions enjoining and restraining the defendant companies from making sports-related event contracts available for trading by customers located in Wisconsin.
The post Wisconsin DOJ Sues to Stop Alleged Illegal Sports Betting Operations in Wisconsin appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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